Teens Charged in School Bus Vandalism Incident

MILLER COUNTY, Mo. — Two teenagers here have been charged for allegedly vandalizing 18 school buses last week.

The Miller County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Shane Sabourin,18, and Alexander Keith, 18, each with 18 counts of first degree felony tampering, according to a news release from the prosecuting attorney’s office.

The defendants, who are also students at School of the Osage, are charged with damaging 18 school buses in the district's fleet.

A Class C felony is punishable by up to seven years in prison, according to the news release. The defendants are in custody in the Miller County jail on a $200,000 bond.

School officials told ABC 7 News last week that the vandalism included deflated tires, destroyed valve stems, and smashed windows. Surveillance cameras at nearby businesses showed people walking across the bus yard at about 4:05 a.m. on April 4, said Tony Hatfield, transportation director for School of the Osage. Hatfield added that the district’s strong relationship with local businesses was helpful in getting the video surveillance footage and finding out what happened. “We couldn’t have done it without local businesses relationships. That was the key.” 

The damage prompted school officials to cancel class on April 4, but they were able to resume classes the following day.

“We were up and ready to go around 4:00 [on Monday] afternoon,” Hatfield said.

A tweet from the district’s Twitter page shows some of the transportation department’s maintenance staff who worked to repair the buses.

SOTO will be in session tomorrow! We have the best maintenance staff at SOTO schools! Thanks guys! They got it done! pic.twitter.com/WsxkQCfZzC

— SOTOtransportation (@TonyHatfield7) April 4, 2016