Juveniles charged in city park vandalism plus other property damage and assault

Four juveniles are facing criminal charges in connection with holiday vandalism of Christmas displays at the Luverne City Park, in addition to assault and damage to numerous other properties around town.
According to the Rock County Sheriff’s Office, the teens are accused of multiple crimes — some of them felonies — ranging from damage to property to assault with a dangerous weapon.
The Rock County Attorney’s office last week filed four juvenile delinquency petitions in Rock County District Court charging Elliot Stoltenberg and Gavyn Boll, both 16 at the time of the alleged crimes, and two 14-year-olds (whose names are not public due to their age).
“It’s kind of heartbreaking seeing that these kids have done what they did. … It caused a lot of turmoil in the community,” said David Owens, assistant county attorney. "It is worrisome that we have children whose circumstances led to these actions. We have no idea as to why they’ve done this. … It’s difficult to parse.”
The criminal complaints outline more than a dozen counts of vandalism in varying degrees and assaults that took place in and around the city of Luverne between December 2020 and February 2021.
The assault charges stem from the use of air-gun style, CO2 powered automatic pistols that were used to shoot at individuals. At least one incident involved shooting at a pedestrian from a vehicle.
The same weapons are described in damage to property, much of which involved shooting out windows. The complaint outlines more than a dozen separate incidents of Luverne residents and business owners reporting damage to vehicles or property by a BB-gun style weapon.
By reviewing security footage at some properties where damage was reported and comparing that to reports of individuals who had been shot at, law enforcement contacted the parents of the suspects to interview them.
According to the redacted criminal complaint released late on Monday, each juvenile admitted to one or more of the vandalisms and implicated other juveniles.
Following the interviews, law enforcement recovered a revolver-style BB gun that fires projectiles at 710 feet per second. The complaint also describes a black CO2 powered full-auto blowback BB air pistol that had been recovered.
Also recovered with it were a 15-count box of Daisy Powerline Premium CO2 cartridges containing six full cylinders with the remaining nine removed, and one container of Crosman Copperhead precision copper coated steel BB’s, 6000 count.
The complaints mention that a third weapon may have been used in the crimes. 
Sheriff Evan Verbrugge said the vandalism spree took a toll on the community more than other crimes, due to the holiday season amid the pressures of COVID-19.
“The community took this vandalism hard,” he said. “We were trying to do something to beautify the park and gather people to celebrate Christmas.”
Many of the same businesses hit hardest by the pandemic worked hard on their displays.
“They went all out, and then to see the vandalism happen the first time and then the next week to see it happen again,” Verbrugge said. “There’s no emotional connection for the kids, but for the owners there’s a huge emotional connection.”
Stoltenberg is charged with 11 counts of damage to property in varying degrees and two counts of assault. One or more of the counts contained in the petition is a felony.
Boll is charged with 10 counts of damage to property in varying degrees and two counts of assault. One or more of the counts contained in the petition is a felony.
All four juveniles are scheduled to come before the court for an initial juvenile hearing on March 22.
It's unclear whether reward money will be disbursed, according to Owen.
“We’re looking into giving remuneration to someone who may have helped,” Owens said.