Stoneham vandals pay a small price for ravaging an American Dream
Published on June 20th, 2001
STONEHAM, MA - Six Stoneham teens, several of whom have appeared in this publication receiving praise as great kids, were sentenced to 200 hours of community service and two years of probation without a finding for charges of vandalism and malicious destruction of property, after beating a potential hate crime rap.
No names will be used in this article because the victims, truly compassionate people, requested no harm or embarrassment come to the teens responsible for giving their children nightmares.
On Dec. 9 a bomb made from aluminum foil dissolved in a Drano solution inside a sealed plastic bottle exploded on the doorstep of an Asian-American family in Stoneham. The noise was sudden, unexpected and loud, especially to the ears of the five- and nine-year-old girls just five to 10 feet away inside the home. The Drano stained the front door and part of the house’s siding.
In 1997 a rock broke the bay window of the same home. That time the residents shook hands with the youths responsible, who paid for the window, apologized, and went on with their lives. However, from 1997 to 2000 the father of this forgiving family logged fifty rocks, 27 eggs, five hard snowballs, and four other objects thrown at his house.
“It was our dream to come to America,” the father said. “Now we just want to be left alone.”
The five-year-old stopped talking for a period after the accident and had to see a psychologist. Both girls would hide when they saw snow plow lights after the bombing because the lights reminded them of the fire engines and cruisers from Dec. 9.
These are the things the family wants the teens and their parents to understand when they rationalize the bomb as a harmless prank.
And although those responsible for the “prank” claimed that they did not know who lived at the home and had never been involved in any other vandalism at the home, the father says that he saw one of the teens before and notes that since the trial, the rocks and eggs have stopped for the first time in four years.
The defense attorneys for the teens mentioned that their clients were good students, so the prosecution asked that they display their scholarship with essays explaining why what they did was wrong. All discipline was handled through the courts. The School Department was not involved because although the teens were Stoneham High students, the incident occurred outside of school.
In her victim’s statement, the mother of the family asked the judge to teach the teens to be responsible for their actions. She and her husband are not convinced that the teens have learned anything positive from the experience.
A public safety officer said in December that he overheard a parent telling one of the suspect teens that he would be grounded. At the time the possibility of a federal hate crime prosecution carrying a 20 year maximum prison sentence was still a possibility.
The family praises the efforts and compassion of the Stoneham Police and Fire Department, particularly Police Inspector George Alger and Fire Investigator Michael O’Sullivan, and Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Lennon.
Also, the family wanted to thank their neighbors for their caring support through this ordeal.
“Two neighbors rushed to our house one day to warn us that a package was outside, and they told us not to open it, to call police,” the father said. “It turned out to be a package from friends, but now our neighborhood is living in fear.”
Now there are no more rocks and no more trial. It’s over, but there are scars. Hopefully, everyone involved has learned something. The family wanted to tell their story not to exact revenge, but to prevent future cruelty toward themselves or any families coming to America, to Stoneham with dreams.
“It will be a few years before I can explain this to my daughters,” the father said. “I hope those kids understand.”
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