All two dozen teenagers accused of spray painting East Paulding High School have accepted a deal from the local prosecutor that will have them toiling away their summer vacation.
The 22 students and two recent graduates could have faced as much as five years in prison, but Paulding District Attorney Dick Donovan gave them a way out: pre-trial diversion with 400 hours of community service and fines.
The teens were facing a felony charge of interference with government property. None of them waited until they April 30 deadline that Donovan set to accept the deal. On Sunday, he said all of them accepted.
The youths were arrested and charged after an early morning prank got out of control last month.
Participants said they were merely repeating an annual rite of seniors -- spray painting the road outside the school. But the prank escalated to felony vandalism when the perpetrators went onto school property, painting buildings and vehicles. They also strayed into a neighborhood with their spray cans. Most were dressed in black and Donovan said at a meeting with all of them in mid-April that he was surprised none of them got shot by a deputy or homeowner.
The students, many of them carrying advanced placement courses, were suspended for the duration of the semester. They have been doing course work together at an alternative school, where there are no AP teachers to help them.
One of the students, Jacob Zimmerman, is senior class president. The family of the 17-year-old says he also was on track to be class valedictorian, and his parents fear it'll be a challenge for him to maintain his grades at the alternative school.
Denise Zimmerman, Jacob's mother, said Sunday that the deal Donovan offered was a tough one but she said the family felt they had no choice but to accept.
"We just decided we needed to choose our battles," Denise Zimmerman said. "I'm happy he didn't go and try to convict them all." She said the family hasn't decided whether to appeal the suspension and other school sanctions.
Paulding County school officials won't discuss the case, citing student confidentiality, but Zimmerman said he alone appealed his suspension to the school board. Earlier this month, the board voted against him and issued a further sanction: he cannot walk in his graduation ceremony.
The family says it's their understanding that the school system will not alter its sanctions despite the charge being dropped. Denise Zimmerman said she's heard that even if her son is the valedictorian, someone else will give the valedictory speech.
In addition to the community service, the teens must each pay $720 in fees and at least $300 in restitution -- more if all 24 don't pay their share of the $7,500 in cleanup costs.
They'll have a clean record, except for the arrest, which they'll have to explain in job interviews. Zimmerman's mother said she'd heard it could be a problem for any who seek a government job. But she's had some good news. Her son was accepted to Georgia Tech to study engineering, and officials there said the incident won't change that.
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