Teen Convicted in $30 Million

February 22, 2008

A 17-year-old boy has been convicted of arson for starting a $30-million fire last May that gutted the historic auditorium of an East Los Angeles high school that inspired the movie “Stand and Deliver.”

District attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said a Superior Court judge gave the teenager, whose name has not been released because of his age, credit for 260 days already served in a juvenile facility and ordered him to serve an additional six months in a camp.

No one was injured in the blaze on May 20, 2007 at Garfield High School, but authorities estimated $30 million in damage.

The school was the setting for 1988’s “Stand And Deliver,” which followed students inspired by math teacher Jaime Escalante, played by Edward James Olmos.

Built in 1925, the landmark auditorium was known for its vintage glass chandeliers and ornate plasterwork.

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