Virginia Beach, Va. – Beach police say a group of juveniles have been charged with destruction of property after setting a fire inside of an unoccupied home.
Police say on January 30th, the juveniles went into the home in the 2300 block of Rock Lake Loop and lit a fire in the bathtub to keep warm.
They told police they went outside to look for more wood or paper to keep the fire going but when they returned to the home, the fire had grown bigger.
They tried to use snow to extinguish the fire, but the smoke caused the smoke detectors to activate. They started to panic at this point.
The water to the home had already been turned off and there was no other way for the juveniles to put the fire out.
They ran away from the home and they were later found by Virginia Beach K9 officers.
Police say they did not charge the juveniles with arson because there was no malicious intent to burn the home, but they have been charged with destruction of property.
