MURDOCK -- Two people arrested in connection with the vandalism of Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg Elementary School will not be charged by the Swift County Attorney's Office.
Melissa Louise Johnson, 29, of Murdock, and Reginald Rammone Dunn, 29, of Murdock, were released from custody Aug. 6 and 7 and will not be charged related to the vandalism of KMS Elementary School, said Swift County Attorney Robin Finke.
"Basically everybody's stories meshed here and the evidence that we have is that Ms. Johnson and Mr. Dunn were not involved in the break-in and had no knowledge of it," Finke said Wednesday.
Johnson and Dunn were arrested Aug. 6 at 212 Main St. in Murdock, along with Cody Lee Friese, 18, of Murdock, and Dustin Joseph Woodworth, 18, of Murdock, for the break-in and vandalism of KMS Elementary. The four lived together at the residence.
Swift County Sheriff Scott Mattison said Wednesday he could not comment on why the Sheriff's Office initially linked Johnson and Dunn with the crime during early investigations.
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Neither Johnson nor Dunn could be reached for comment.
Finke said the state is still pressing charges against Friese and Woodworth for the school's vandalism. Both suspects were arraigned Aug. 8 in Willmar on two felony charges each: second-degree burglary and first-degree criminal property damage. Friese and Woodworth posted bond and will appear in court Sept. 19.
Friese has two previous convictions for burglary-related charges as a juvenile. One was filed in January and the other in April, which was for receiving stolen property from the Calvary Lutheran Church burglary in December 2007. Both convictions were gross misdemeanor offenses.
According to previous reports, custodial staff at KMS Elementary School discovered the vandalism shortly after 6 a.m. Aug. 6. Vandals apparently broke in by smashing a window.
The perpetrators shattered windows inside the school with fire extinguishers and later discharged their contents in classrooms. They also spray-painted parts of the school's interior.
Classrooms, computers and other equipment were damaged by the vandals, according to information from Mattison.
KMS Superintendent Martin Heidelberger said in an Aug. 8 interview that the vandalism will not delay the school's Sept. 2 opening for the first day of class. Heidelberger said he had met with insurance adjusters and cleaning services and was assured the building would be ready for the new school year.
"We'll be ready to go and just as clean and shiny as we were prior (to the vandalism),'' Heidelberger said in the interview.
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He said most of the vandalism was committed in the older portion of the elementary school, but computer labs and network centers of the building went untouched.
Heidelberger said the incident was the worst case of vandalism he had seen at any KMS school building in his 10 years with the district.
