[StBernard] St. Bernard teen confesses to Village Square arson

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard teen confesses to Village Square arson
by The Times-Picayune 
Friday October 31, 2008, 2:29 PM
A teen already in the St. Bernard Parish Juvenile Detention Center has been
booked with arson in connection with a massive blaze at the Village Square
apartments in Chalmette in January. 

The teen, who is now 17 but was 16 at the time of the fire, admitted
torching the apartments. 

Because he is in juvenile custody, the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office
would not identify the teen. 

No one was injured in the Jan. 6 fire, but parish firefighters were
stretched thin during several intense hours trying to bring it under
control. The fire created a plume of smoke that could be seen for miles. 

The fire destroyed around 40 apartments, authorities said. Most of the
complexes in Village Square, a large apartment community in central
Chalmette, have remained abandoned since Hurricane Katrina. 

The teen is already serving a two-year sentence in the juvenile center after
being convicted in several auto burglaries.