Submitted by Fox First at Ten on September 5th
SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. - A local mother told KHQ she is at her wits' end after her son was arrested for causing $100,000 in damages to a home in Spokane Valley early Tuesday morning.
Spokane County Sheriff's Deputies said a pair of teens, ages 17 and 16, broke into the home in the 10500 block of E. 9th Street in Spokane Valley around 3 a.m. Tuesday morning. They arrested the teens within a matter of hours and they now face charges of felony malicious mischief and residential burglary. Per policy, KHQ is not identifying the teens since they are minors.
To make matters worse, the homeowners are in the process of trying to sell the home. Now, one mother told KHQ that she wants her son to stay in jail because she feels like she's on her last leg trying to keep him out of trouble.
"I've bent over backwards. I've done everything I was told to do and nothing has helped him. The only time I actually see him do good is when he goes to jail for a little bit of time and then, he gets out and he's good for a little bit but then he's right back to it," she said.
KHQ did not reveal the woman's identity since her son is a minor.
The mom says her son has a very serious problem with alcohol as well as an extensive history with law enforcement.
Mom said the family's had a rough go of it with her ex-husband who she says was abusive. She said her son started acting out after the divorce and has been in and out of school and trouble for the last three years. The mom said she's tried everything to get her son back on the right path but nothing seems to help.
"I've had him in drug and alcohol treatment, I've had him in counseling, I've had him in a psych ward - he tried to kill himself a couple of times," she said. "I've had him see psychiatrists -everything the police and the courthouse has told me to do I've done."
Plus, she said her son is the same person who is responsible for the vandalism at East Valley High School where they used spray paint on sheds built by students. That incident cost $3,000 dollars of damage.
Recently, she said, he came home after a four day binge on methamphetamines. "That was my last straw. That was when I was like, 'I don't want him back here. I have other children I need to protect."
That incident coupled with this latest alcohol-fueled vandalism spree has prompted mom to want to keep her son in jail.
"It's really difficult because I love him, he's my first born, he's my baby and as much as I love him, I have to be here for my other children. My heart goes out to all the other people that he's victimizing," she continued.
This mom is worried if someone doesn't help her son that he'll end up a repeat offender like Charles Wallace who got into a deadly shoot out with two deputies earlier this summer.
"This is my plea for my son to get the help he needs," she said.
The teens face charges of felony malicious mischief and residential burglary.
