Reward rises to $1,000 for vandalism suspects

The reward has quadrupled to $1,000 for tips leading to the arrest of four hooded and masked figures who scaled the wall enclosing Coronado High School and vandalized the Henderson campus last month.

They chopped down four trees in the school's courtyard, jammed industrial glue into door locks and hinges, and used the mural of Coronado's mascot, a cougar, for paintball gun practice. The face of the cougar, overlooking the courtyard from three stories up, is still covered in yellowish brown paint, which can't be removed without ruining the mural, Principal Lee Koelliker said. The mural probably will need to be completely redone.

The school originally offered a $250 reward, but students' parents have donated $750, Koelliker said. And the pot may grow as students tell Koelliker they want to hold a bake sale to raise money.

"They're emphatic to find out who these kids are," Koelliker said. "They have great pride in their school."

The principal has seen his share of lighthearted pranks. This was no prank but "malicious," he said.

Senior pranks are usually pulled in the spring and are not destructive, but humorous and easily cleaned up. Koelliker has seen the traditional "teepeeing," where toilet paper is thrown over trees and the building. He has seen tires somehow stacked on the flagpole and tables stacked a story high.

These vandals had something against the school, said Koelliker, who has asked other high school principals to include word of the reward in their morning announcements.

But he said he's almost certain the suspects aren't from a rival school but his students, either current or former. Security cameras at the school, which is near Sunridge Heights Parkway and Coronado Center Drive, recorded the vandalism, but the perpetrators couldn't be identified from footage. They were familiar with the high school and knew locations of all the cameras, dodging their views.

Contact reporter Trevon Milliard at tmilliard@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.