Eight Samohi Students Arrested for Vandalism

By Jorge Casuso

May 21 -- Eight Santa Monica High School students have been arrested for vandalizing the campus on Pico Boulevard at around midnight Sunday, spray-painting walls, pouring tar and destroying trees and shrubbery, police said.

The cost of the property damage for the cash-strapped district is expected to exceed $6,000, police said.

The incident is not believed to be gang-related, and five of the students -- who scrawled “Class of 03” on the walls -- were adults and were booked at Santa Monica jail.

Santa Monica police, who worked closely with high school administrators, will present all of the cases to the District Attorney for filing, said police department spokesman Lt. Frank Fabrega.

“The investigation is ongoing,” Fabrega said. “If additional students are identified, they will also be arrested.”

School Superintendent John Deasy said the incident displayed “offensive but bizarre” behavior that “does not certainly represent the senior class.