Five Palo Verde High School students charged with multiple counts of arson caught a break from Clark County District Attorney David Roger on Tuesday.

Roger, who has been weighing whether to have the teens face the charges as adults, decided to instead let the case proceed through the juvenile court system.

The case involves three first-degree arson charges related to summer incidents at Faith Lutheran Junior/Senior High School, where Molotov cocktails were used to scorch two portable classrooms.

A fourth arson charge is based on a firebomb set off in Summerlin's Trails Park.

"The juveniles have very little criminal history, if at all," Roger said. "There was very little damage to the building, and lives were not at risk at the time they manufactured these Molotov cocktails and threw them at the buildings."

Four of the five teens arrested Nov. 22 are varsity football players who sat out a state championship semifinal game because they were confined at the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center.

Those arrested included starting quarterback J.D. Buonantony, 17, running back Rashan Lawrence, 16, tight end Ryan Patterson, 16, and defensive back Travis Skochenko, 16. Without them, a shorthanded Palo Verde went down 35-0 against Reno's Galena High School.

The fifth teen arrested on the arson charges is 16-year-old Robert Funk. Like the other four, Funk is an 11th grader.

The teens' lawyers were relieved by Roger's decision .

"This is great news," said Joseph Sciscento, who represents Buonantony. "It's the right decision."

During his client's detention hearing before Judge William Voy on Monday, Sciscento unsuccessfully argued to have Buonantony released, emphasizing the minor damage caused and the teenager's lack of criminal history.

Voy denied the request for release from all five individuals, saying that decision will be made after risk assessments are completed for each person.

Defense attorney Steve Stein, who represents both Skochenko and Patterson, said Rogers' decision doesn't mean the five teenagers are getting off easy. They still must go through juvenile court proceedings and may end up serving time in a juvenile facility.

The five high school juniors also face serious consequences within the Clark County School District. They were suspended from Palo Verde the same day they were arrested and face expulsion. If they are expelled, they will likely not be allowed to return to Palo Verde and will be assigned to other high schools.

Three of the teens also were being highly recruited by college football programs, Stein said. "Do you think that's going to happen now?"

Roger's decision will be a positive, however, when the court again considers whether the teens should be released to a program of house arrest and electronic monitoring, Stein said.

Voy made it clear Monday that if any of the teens are released they will be ordered to not have any contact with each other.

But also on Monday, Deputy District Attorney Phil Brown told Voy that the five may face additional arson charges.

The teens were arrested Nov. 22 after a four-month investigation conducted by the Clark County Fire Department and the Las Vegas field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The federal agency became involved because the firebombing of a religious school is a potential hate crime. That was not supported by the findings of investigators.