Five Arlington high school students arrested in graffiti probe

Police have arrested five students at one Arlington high school in connection with the painting of graffiti that was discovered Tuesday morning at another high school in the city.

Four students remained in the Arlington Jail on Friday with bail set at $2,500, each facing a graffiti charge. The fifth student, Ryan Westbrook, was released after posting $2,500 bail, police said. Westbrook, 17, told an investigator that he helped paint a jungle gym green but did not paint any graffiti, according to his arrest warrant affidavit.

One photo of the graffiti, tweeted by the Arlington NAACP chapter, showed the words whites only spray-painted above a water fountain.

On another part of the school, a door was spray-painted with the words trans only, said Leslie Johnston, an Arlington school district spokeswoman.

Suspect Christian Joeckel, 17, remained jailed Friday with bail set at $2,500.

Joeckel told police that he wrote the “trans only” and “white only” comments and drew parts of the male anatomy on school property, according to his affidavit.

Lt. Chris Cook, a police spokesman, has said the graffiti contained “several disturbing racial and gender overtones.”

“There is some indication that would suggest the offenders may have come from a rival high school,” Cook said.

Westbrook described the incident as a “senior prank,” according to his arrest warrant affidavit. Others arrested are Ethan Sigmond, 18; Hayden Honolka, 17; and Cameron Bodenstab, 18.

Honolka told police that he wrote a derogatory comment regarding Martin High on a school building, his arrest affidavit stated. Bodenstab and Sigmond said they participated in painting the jungle gym green but did not deface the school any further, their arrest affidavits state.

Each suspect said much of the graffiti was already at Martin High when they arrived, according to the affidavits.

The graffiti, on the northwest corner of the school near the gym and on the football field, was removed later Tuesday.

“Through our investigation with the Arlington Police Department, the individuals involved in the graffiti incident have been identified,” an emailed statement from the Arlington school district said. “The AISD does not tolerate vandalism or hate speech. The students involved will receive appropriate disciplinary action.”

This story was originally published May 27, 2016 at 5:47 PM with the headline "Five Arlington high school students arrested in graffiti probe."