The evening of May 3, seven teenagers, most of the students at Matanzas and Palm Coast high school, broke into Indian Trails Middle School, trashed a bathroom, entered the office of a coach and stole loose change, all the while laughing and capturing their acts with their phone videos. The teens were captured on the school’s own video surveillance system.
Five of the seven individuals have been arrested, charged with and identified as mostly students at Matanzas High School. They are Phillip Moultrie, Kwentell Moultrie, Arlis Blount, Damont’e Harris, and Raequan Lockley. Kwentel Moultrie and George had been arrested in late March in connection with the robbery of a pizza delivery woman in Palm Coast’s F-Section, Sheriff Jim Manfre said.
The break-in was not discovered until Monday morning, when the deputy assigned to Indian Trails as a school resource officer was led through the burglarized area by Gillian Ceballos, a school staffer.
Video surveillance shows that the alleged burglary started around 8:20 p.m. Saturday when the teens gained access to the school on the south side of the building, near the gymnasium, making their way through a corridor and into the area of classrooms used by the district’s string orchestra program. There was no evidence that the teens accessed any of those rooms, but they attempted to rip the door of a wall unit located in one of the classrooms in the area, according to the incident report on the burglary. There were no signs of forced entry.
The south side of the building gives onto sports fields that connect to the Indian Trails Sports Complex, an area rich in activities most days and evenings. The parking area at the south end of the building is regularly used by patrons of the sports complex.
The door on the south side of the building “was discovered left open on this date propped open by a large rug,” the report states. “The subjects once inside went into a bathroom located just past their entry point, inside they began trashing the interior of the bathroom. The subjects appear to make their way into the gymnasium and enter the office of Coach Lane. Coach Lane reports that she had some loose change in her desk, totaling $20, that was taken. Coach Lane also stated that her office was locked prior to leaving on 05/02/14 for the weekend break.”
The Media Center’s Lynn Schroeder located surveillance footage of the incident, which showed seven juveniles roaming the school, and kicking and ramming a door that leads to Lane’s office. All seven teens were seen entering the office, then leaving with a pair of basketballs as they resumed their walk through the building, laughing and capturing video of each other.
Deputies, including Don Apperson, who supervises school resource deputies and is familiar with students at Matanzas High School, were able to identify six of the seven individuals through the video footage. Later that morning three deputies, including Apperson, continued their investigation at Matanzas, where they made contact with three of the seven juveniles–Phillip Moultrie, Blount and Lockley. They were told that they were caught on video vandalizing Indian Trails, and that they were under arrest. Harris was later arrested by a road patrol unit and taken to Matanzas, while Kwentell Moultrie was arrested at Flagler Palm Coast High School and taken directly to the Flagler County jail.
All suspects were booked at the county jail except for Kwentell Moultrie, who was taken to Daytona Juvenile Justice for processing. The juveniles booked at the county jail were then released to their parents’ custody.
Damage assessment carried on Monday, as school personnel was instructed to report any damage inside the building. String orchestra classes, which normally take place Monday and Wednesday afternoon, were not scheduled Monday as the nearly 300 students who normally gather at Indian Trails performed at the Flagler Auditorium that evening.
A.S.F. says
May I suggest that authorities stipulate that the parents of these teens be personally responsible to make financial restitution for any damages that their children may cause while they are bonded out to their (the parent’s) supervision? Perhaps, that will give the parents added motivation to increase the level of supervision they give to their teens while awaiting disposition of these charges.
Outsider says
Oh, these are some real rope-a-dopes. What, they didn’t think there was surveillance at the school, and then video themselves just to make sure there’s evidence? I’m sure it would have been on their facebook pages before long….gotta let everyone see their biggest accomplishments. Losers…….with a capital “L.”
Local says
AMEN! nailed it.
orphan says
We can sit here and bitch non-stop about why these thugs do these things, but the reason that they DO these things is because they can GET AWAY WITH IT.
All of you who want to excuse the actions of these criminals as juvenile pranks or perhaps something else less serious need to submit the pin numbers of your bank accounts and let the county collect the monies needed to counter the damage done.
The article states that these jerks were laughing/joking while they were videoing each other during this rampage. If this is so funny to them, let’s see how funny it is to their parent’s bank accounts!
Binkey says
The door was propped open by a rug. Did students do this earlier in the day or staff? The doors have locks for a reason.
Coast386 says
Philip and Kwentell are good kids, they have made some terrible choices, they will have to pay consequences for there actions. They need some help and they need some guidance in their lives. These kids can be turned around.
F section parent says
Really?? 2 of the kids arrested for a robbery a month ago and now this? Where are the kids parents, maybe they need to be charged with negligence. I’m the parent of a 15yr old and I can tell you if mine was arrested a month ago he wouldn’t be out roaming the streets a month later at 820 when it’s dark out.
Yes it’s the kids but it falls on the parents, these people need to learn and learn quick. There’s a reason condoms are made.
Local says
Good Kids? What are you smoking? First they rob a Pizza Delivery person, then they pull this crap. They don’t learn. They need to be locked up. These are most obviously habitual offenders. The kind of guidance they need comes from Buba at the county lock-up.
wake up says
GOOD KIDS HUH! GUIDANCE?! So you think these “good kids” DIDN’T know they were doing wrong?? Where is MOM and DAD??? So WE have to take care of them? I bet MOM and DAD are saying” OH NO NOT MY KID” NEXT time it may be your house they break into for FUN.. Lets see what you’ll say then.
JK says
If Phillip and Kwentell are good kids, what does that say about the rest of society? A “good kid” would not even think of doing something on this level. They knew it was criminal the minute they made this VERY poor choice. A “good kid” would have walked away, not broke in!
Give me a break says
I am amazed at the judgment of people. These are KIDS. They did this cause they are BORED. They did this because there is nothing to challenge our kids here. They did this because thats what kids do. Compared to some of the crimes I have seen kids commit in this town, this was juvenile mischief at best. I do not condone it, but I am surely not to going to lynch them here because of something many of us have done at one time in our life- MISCHIEF.
KR says
NO, this is not “what kids do” this is what kids with no respect for authority and no respect for other people’s property do! I had the pleasure to attend MHS last night for an awards ceremony and saw about 75 kids get awards for GPA’s over 3.75 and other awards for music, athletics, art, ROTC, etc. Not every teenager breaks into schools, vandalizes property or even rob a delivery person. Teenagerss with no supervision, no punishment or consequence for previous actions, and no regard for anyone but themselves are the ones who do this, not every teenager. i know, because I’ve raised 3 kids in this town who didn’t break the law.
Gg says
It is what kids do.
ken says
Mischief is a benign term for their vandalism. Robbing a pizza delivery woman is much worse. These are the 2 things we know they did. Who knows what other bad acts they have committed. Nobody is talking about lynching. Let’s keep that kind of language out of this conversation.
Rich says
To give me a break: There are over 10,000 KIDS in the Flagler County School system. I’m sure a lot of them are BORED, yet they don’t go around doing these types of crimes, if any crimes at all. I would venture to say, given today’s statistics on single parent families, that a lot of these KIDS come from single parent families and they are not committing these types of crimes, again if any.
These seven committed a BURGLARY first to enter the school. They committed vandalism, or criminal mischief as the statute reads, and also petit theft. The burglary is a FELONY and the criminal mischief could be a felony if the damage sustained is over $1,000.
Please don’t try to downplay these crimes as just Kids being Bored and doing what all kids do from time to time. This type of attitude is leading to the desensitizing of society about these crimes. There is no more SHOCK factor associated with these crimes and that is a sad state of affairs fro this country any more.
What is the excuse for Kwentell Moultrie’s robbery of the pizza delivery girl from a few weeks ago? Nothing good playing at the local movie theater that night?
Unfortunately some BORED KIDS grow up to be BORED ADULTS that keep committing crimes which become more serious in nature.
Law enforcement deals with people on a daily basis that are just plain BAD people. Hopefully these seven have a chance to turn their lives around. I would opine that a few of the seven have their futures etched in stone already.
A.S.F. says
The “mischief” you refer to has an impact on the lives of other innocent people. These teenagers need to learn that their impulses and desires are not the only factor to be considered in life and that one’s chosen behavior has consequences. As far as boredom is concerned, these young people put some time, energy and effort into planning THIS particular activity…They can take that same amount of time, energy and effort add a little creativity to it, and plan another, more positive, activity. If you care about these kids and their futures, Give Me a Break, you will help them (and kids like them) do just that in the future–instead of just coming up with excuses for them when they screw up.
Local says
Everyone has done something they regret as kids. KIDS! These are high school students, they should be deciding what collage they are going to attend not ransacking schools, robbing delivery people or god knows what else. At this age, this isn’t mischief, it’s premeditated crime. These “kids” need to go to jail. They need to be made aware of the consequences that come with committing crimes. Not a slap on the wrist, but a nice 2-5 in the pen sharing a cell with Buba. Saying they did this because they are bored is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard. I get bored often, I don’t go break into a school, or anything else for that matter, I don’t go robbing people, I don’t commit crimes to entertain myself. Being bored is NOT an excuse and I really can’t comprehend how you could even say something like that. If you’re bored, read a book, there’s a novel concept. (pun intended). Or how about GET A JOB, there’s another idea that never crossed their wasted minds. Yes, go mow a lawn, clean a field, volunteer your time. There is plenty to do to avoid that dreaded crime creating boredom that you’ve described. We as a society need to stop enabling this kind of behavior. Don’t like prison for these thugs, okay, let’s create a nice juvenile work camp that they have to be in 24-7, wake them up at 4am make them work for 12 hours, then go to sleep and repeat. Or do you think that’s cruel and unusual? God forbid these punks break a sweat and do something positive while learning a lesson.
wake up says
BORED YOU SAY REALLY!!!!! let them read a book…let them walk around the neighborhood they live in(NOT JACK SOMEONE) but cut lawns/rake/pull weeds to make money like we USE to when we were kids. BORED!! so they decide to break into a school. REAL FUNNY NEXT TIME IT MIGHT BE YOUR HOUSE! We’ll see how funny it is then. Bottom line here is that half these kids are on AUTO pilot, parents want to leave it up to the WORLD to discipline THEIR kids. BORED!! YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME!
The Truth says
As someone who has lived a good portion of their life in Palm Coast, I am sick and tired of hearing parents (aka adults) making excuses for kids. The excuse of: there is nothing to do and they’re bored, that’s why they’re vandalizing is just ridiculous.
There is plenty to do in this town. I’m not sure what you really expect there to be? We have bike paths, parks, recreation facilities, basketball courts, sports programs, etc. In the end, parents still need to be parents. I think we need to stop making these lame excuses that “our children are bored, that’s why they’re doing this”. I grew up in Palm Coast in the 90s when there wasn’t anywhere near as much and I didn’t get into mischief like this (I was far from perfect). I rode my bike, I hung out at friends houses, I went swimming, I played outside. Perhaps if these kids weren’t handed an iPad as a babysitter they just might be able to entertain themselves and realize all they have available to them in Palm Coast.
JK says
To: Give me a break
Why are you making excuses for these kids? What if it was your house they broke into. Would you still say they did it because they were “bored?”
blondee says
“THIS IS WHAT KIDS DO”?!?!? omg I seriously hope you’re not raising tweens or teenagers!!!
Mary says
These kids are a disgrace. If they are high school age, they are old enough to be working. This is not mischief and who the heck cares if they are BORED as this is where some work may come in handy instead of roaming around with their pants around their ankles looking for trouble. I hope all those that defend this behavior would fell just as benevolent if they vandalized their homes when they were at work or maybe out for dinner. Shame on these brats and more shame on their parents.
kim says
The young adults and teens in this city are bored. Our kids are bored and when there is nothing to do, trouble will be found. Why doesn’t our city with our high taxes build more areas where our teens and families want to hang out at? What about a city rec center? A YMCA or something similar. I have a teen and for something to do, he drives to Daytona. I hate for him to drive all that way, I wish there was something here!!!!!
Mary says
You call the pittance we pay in taxes high? I was paying almost $10,000 in NY and there was absolutely nothing to keep kids entertained. But… they went to work at 16 and that plus school usually kept them pretty busy. My kids were happy to have a movie with friends at the Mall after going to school and working. Life is not made up of entertainment.
Just the facts says
Good kids?! Just bored?! Tell that to the poor woman who got robbed. Her life is changed forever. Do you realize how traumatic it is to be a victim of a robbery? You want a challenge? How about they try to graduate. How about picking up a book or getting a job. No let’s blame their environment, and lack of programs: because without those things apparently it’s impossible to have a moral compass right? Enable them straight to prison.
Nancy N. says
I cannot believe the people trying to whitewash these kids’ actions by blaming boredom. When I was their age, I didn’t have hundreds of cable channels, electronic games, a cell phone, or the internet to entertain me, and I lived far outside of town without easy access to the activities and recreational facilities there or to visit with my friends. And yet somehow I managed to entertain myself just fine without becoming a career criminal. Listening to some of the commenters here apparently I should consider that some kind of miracle?
This isn’t about boredom. This is about the fact that these kids’ moral codes are so screwed up that they consider it entertaining to commit crimes.
KLR says
NO, this is not “what kids do” this is what kids with no respect for authority and no respect for other people’s property do! I had the pleasure to attend MHS last night for an awards ceremony and saw about 75 kids get awards for GPA’s over 3.75 and other awards for music, athletics, art, ROTC, etc. Not every teenager breaks into schools, vandalizes property or even rob a delivery person. Teenagerss with no supervision, no punishment or consequence for previous actions, and no regard for anyone but themselves are the ones who do this, not every teenager. i know, because I’ve raised 3 kids in this town who didn’t break the law.
LDS says
I know 5 out of the 7 of these kids and all have been in my home several times they are not bad kids! They are very respectful.They made some bad choices and will have consequences to face but still are kids and not LOOSERS
Mary says
These kids if they are not bad right now, are well on the road toward some serious problems. As the parent of 4 grown children, I know for a fact that these kids know how to sweet talk adults, especially the parents of their friends. I have 2 grandchildren who are 15 and 2 more who will be teens in a few months. My grandson mows lawns in the summer and plows in the winter to earn money. He skis, snow boards and runs track with his school team. I might add that his parents have more than enough money to fund his entertainment BUT they feel he needs to know the value of a dollar. My granddaughter babysits, plays on 2 soccer teams and is taking advanced classes in preparation for college. These kids do NOT need to be entertained 24 hours a day. They should be looking toward what the future will bring for them instead of harassing the citizens of Palm Coast.
Those condoning this behavior need to take their heads out of the sand & just say a small prayer that they are not next when the little darlings are bored.
palmcoastresident says
Coast386,
These kids are not good kids, two of them robbed a pizza lady, which they are lucky the pizza person was not carrying a gun and shot and killed them, secondly, good kids don’t do repetitive criminal acts. Yes, a “good” kid gets into trouble because all kids do from time to time, BUT a good kid will learn from their first mistake or run in with the law!
What the heck are the parents doing with their kids they they allow them to be juvenile delinquents of this magnitude? What the heck is wrong with these kids?
What they don’t realize now, is they are losing their ability to be productive assets to society later on in life with their criminal acts as a child (no, their juvenile files are not sealed, their names are on the web now forever). Where are they gonna get a job in the real world with a criminal back ground? They will work low end jobs for the rest of their lives paying for the mistakes they made as a kid. THIS IS WHAT THE PARENTS ARE FOR, to prevent the kids from growing up and living in a trailer park for the rest of their lives, working low end jobs because they are CRIMINALS!
Muah says
JR Briggs once said, “Show me your friends and I will show you your future”. If the above reader has had these kids in their home, then their kids are friends with them. You are fortunate that your child(ren) were not involved in this. If these were my kids friends, they’d be distancing themselves from them real quick. Making “bad choices” is an understatement. For some, this is the second incident in a matter of a couple of months. The more their actions continue to be made light of and excused as “mischief” and ‘something all kids do” the bigger the crimes are going to become. Look at the teens in California that just got killed during a break-in. The mom was asking “Why? They didn’t have to shoot.” Well, this was the THIRD break in for this lady, by at least 1 of the 2 who were killed. Hopefully these kids will learn from their “bad choices”. smh
ryan says
I am surprised there are no mugshots for the kids who were 18, as obviously some were. The problem is that these kids are looking up to gangsta rappers, gang members, and other criminals who glorify illegal activity like stealing, vandalism, burglary, dog fighting, and other crimes. The kids who are under 18 know that the parents will be blamed, and not them, so they never learn about taking responsibility for their actions. Just read some of the naive comments on here. Sure a lot of kids do stupid things, but that is not defined by criminal activity. Breaking and entering and burglary are fairly serious, and the next step is burglarizing private homes, then violent home invasions, as the pattern tends to be. A good couple of months in jail would be fair as well as community service, like cleaning up the mess made by the burglary and picking up trash.
Robert Harris says
4 of them are my cousin