3 juveniles admit vandalizing churches

Three 17-year-olds accused of vandalizing six Carson Valley churches with spray-paint that depicted "666," upside-down crosses and obscenities admitted their guilt Monday in juvenile court.

Ronald Bronk, Ryan Schuricht and Kylie Antti admitted petitions charging them with damaging property used for religious purposes.

Bronk also was charged will willful injury to property for slashing two tires on a church daycare van.

Antti was charged with graffiti at one of the churches.

"I spray-painted the doors, walls, and windows with obscenities toward God," Bronk said. "There was no reason."

He also said he cut the tires on the left side of the Trinity Lutheran Church daycare van.

"I spray-painted '666' and upside down crosses at two churches," Schuricht said.

He told District Judge Michael Gibbons that he was picked up in the middle of the vandalism spree that covered 20 miles from north Douglas County to the Gardnerville Ranchos.

Antti said she spray-painted three of the churches. She was the only one who tied the vandalism to the date, June 6, 2006.

She told Gibbons that all the participants came up with the idea, motivated by the date.

Antti said when questioned by deputies, the suspects admitted their participation.

Jonathan M. Walker, 19, is set to appear in East Fork Justice Court on Wednesday on six gross misdemeanor counts of damage to property used for religious purposes.

He is in Douglas County Jail on $50,000 bail.

On Monday, Gibbons released Schuricht and Bronk from juvenile detention.

He told the parents of all three juveniles that they were responsible for their children's behavior and were to contact authorities if the teens violated conditions of their release.

Probation officer John Enos asked the judge to leave the boys in detention.

"They're a danger to society, danger to the community and danger to themselves," Enos said.

He said Bronk and Schuricht were transient, "living in an old Ford Explorer."

Enos said when the boys were questioned, Schuricht said he lived in the van "so we could do anything we wanted to do."