Five Santa Rosa high school students arrested on campus

(KRON) — Five Montgomery High School students in Santa Rosa were arrested by police on campus Thursday.

Police said the arrested students are all boys who are 15 years old and in 10th grade. They are suspected of vandalizing Herbert Slater Middle School and destroying school property.

The middle school’s campus, located at 3500 Sonoma Avenue, has been closed since last summer. For the 2025-2026 school year, Herbert Slater Middle School students are sharing a campus with high school students at Montgomery High School. The Slater campus is still a Santa Rosa City Schools District facility that serves as a venue for seasonal school sports teams.  

On November 2, the Santa Rosa Police Department was notified about widespread vandalism at the middle school.

“Numerous rooms on the campus had been vandalized. Some of the damage included trash bins and furniture being knocked over in the girls locker room, and a bathroom stall door had been ripped off the hinges in the boys locker room. A broken skylight was discovered in the weight room, and the theater curtain on the stage had been torn. Additionally, a television was damaged, and trash was thrown throughout the wrestling room. District employees estimated the damage to be approximately $5,000,” SRPD wrote.

Police and school district employees reviewed footage recorded by campus security cameras to identify five suspects as Montgomery High School sophomores.

On Thursday at 1:20 p.m., an SRPD officer coordinated with school officials at Montgomery High School to “discreetly remove the five boys from class” and go to the school’s office.

The boys were arrested and transported to Juvenile Hall for felony vandalism, burglary, and conspiracy to commit a felony. Their names were not released by officials because the boys are minors.