Two juveniles arrested for arson after barn fire with children inside in Gilbert

GILBERT, AZ (AZ Family) — Two juveniles were arrested for arson after allegedly setting fire to a building in a Gilbert neighborhood Wednesday night.

Shortly before 10 p.m., Gilbert police and firefighters responded to a neighborhood near Higley and Guadalupe roads and found a large, isolated building engulfed in flames.

Gilbert firefighters extinguished the fire and no one was injured.

Police later arrested two minors on charges including arson of an occupied structure and endangering the lives of others. Other details, including their ages, were not released.

Jeni Jones, the homeowner, said her teenage daughter was hanging out with a group of friends in the barn loft. She said another group of teenagers showed up uninvited.

Jones said her daughter blocked the boys on social media after they kept bothering her, but the suspects were able to find her location on other friends' accounts.

She said the boys set off fireworks inside the barn-style garage. Surveillance video from inside the barn shows a flash and the teens inside running away.

Jones said her daughter went into the house to ask her father to tell the unwanted group to leave. But a short time later, she said another firework was set off inside the barn before it caught fire.

“The kids who did this, they were here and we welcomed them into our home,” Jones said.

Jones said she thought one of the boys she had met earlier at her home was respectful and shook her hand.

“It's just devastating to see these kids come in and do this,” she said. “They just think they're untouchable, I think.”

Everyone in the barn managed to get out in time and was not injured.

Jones shared a video showing her husband trying to put out the flames with a garden hose, but to no avail. He watched as everything burned.

Jones said her husband's collection of classic vehicles, his exercise machines and his engraving tools were inside. She also had sentimental items from deceased loved ones in the garage. The total is estimated to be worth about $500,000, Jones said.

“I had some of my mom’s stuff that I kept here. I had some of her sewing kits because I sew. It was very sentimental to me, and I had some of her old clothes that I was going to do something with, but I can’t do that anymore. I don’t even have that opportunity,” she said.

The fire did not spread to Jones' house, even though it was located nearby.

Her daughter's friend, Lauren Lewis, was also inside the barn.

“God was watching over us because I was there when the second firework went off and I left right away. But if I had been upstairs, a few seconds later, I could have been dead,” Lewis said.

“If they had stayed up there another minute, they wouldn’t have survived. It’s scary. It makes you emotional to think about it. It gives me goosebumps. I can’t even process the thought because it’s so horrible,” Jones said.

Jones said a boy gave his daughter the finger in a video he sent her via social media after the incident.

She and other parents plan to press charges and want other teens who played a role in the fire to turn themselves in.

“If it was an accident, I would be very grateful. I understand that accidents happen. Kids are kids. But when a teenager comes in here and intentionally tries to do harm, they need to be punished,” Jones said.

The case is being investigated by the Gilbert Police Department and Gilbert Fire Department.

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help the owner rebuild.

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