Santa Monica : Two Charged in Vandalism at High School

A 20-year-old Malibu man is free on $5,000 bail and a 17-year-old Santa Monica High School student has been released to parental custody after both were arrested last week on suspicion of breaking into Santa Monica High School and causing about $30,000 damage, police said.

Evan Michael Shanks and the juvenile, whose name was withheld, are accused of breaking into 11 classrooms April 14, smashing audio-visual equipment and throwing chemicals from the chemistry laboratory on floors and walls. Some school property was stolen. The letters PHS were spray-painted on school walls. Police said the PHS graffito is a “newly initiated punk-rock type of thing” standing for “pot heads.”

Police Sgt. Roy McGinnis said the juvenile was arrested at the high school April 18 after a school security guard became suspicious and notified police. A few hours later, police arrested Shanks at Pepperdine Book Store, where he is said to be employed. A scale from the chemistry lab and a pair of goggles taken from the school were found in Shanks’ Winding Way residence, McGinnis said.

Shanks, who graduated from Santa Monica High School in 1982, and the juvenile were booked on suspicion of burglary and malicious mischief. Shanks’ arraignment is pending in Santa Monica Municipal Court. The 17-year-old faces a hearing in juvenile court.