Two boys, ages 12 and 13, are facing serious criminal charges after their mothers alerted authorities to the boys’ role in causing over $50,000 in damage to their elementary school library.
According to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office, the pair first entered Friendship Elementary School in Deltona, Florida, during the day on September 13, then snuck back onto the campus later that night. Once inside the library’s media center, the pre-teens allegedly threw books across the floor, overturned furniture, and spray-painted graffiti on doors. Investigators say the situation escalated when the boys returned a second time to see the destruction, causing further damage and setting off the fire alarm. Deputies who responded to the alarm found the media center completely ransacked.
Police shared body camera footage and photos showing the extent of the wreckage—books and smashed furniture scattered everywhere. Surveillance video also captured two suspects entering the library, one wearing a Monster Energy cap, both with their faces covered.
Following the release of the images, tips poured in. But the decisive leads came from the boys’ own mothers, who recognized their children and made the difficult choice to contact law enforcement. "Their moms turned them in,” the Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post, later identifying the boys as 12-year-old Felix Cohen Romero and 13-year-old Bentley Ryan Wehrly. Both confessed to the vandalism, which caused at least $50,000 in damage.
Each boy now faces multiple charges, including two counts of burglary, two counts of trespassing on school grounds, criminal mischief, and theft. While authorities have not confirmed how the case will proceed through the juvenile justice system, the severity of the damage could lead to significant legal consequences.
The case has drawn widespread reaction online, with many praising the mothers for their accountability. "Great job moms!!! I’m sure that was incredibly hard, but it was the right thing to do,” one person commented. Others suggested the boys should be required to clean up the library themselves as part of their punishment, including during school hours so their peers can see.
For now, the two boys face both legal proceedings and public scrutiny. Their mothers’ decision to turn them in has been held up as a difficult but necessary example of parenting—proof that accountability often begins at home.
