Teens accused of causing more than $100,000 in damage to vacant Key Peninsula home up for sale
Aug 28, 2026, 2:22 PM | Updated: 3:15 pm
A late-night security check at a vacant home on Key Peninsula led Pierce County deputies to what one official called an “incredibly disturbing” scene of destruction that will likely cost the homeowner about $100,000.
Pierce County deputy Carly Cappetto said they were called around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday to the vacant home that was listed for sale on 191st Ave. SW.
Neighbors reported banging inside and suspected teenagers were going in and out of the house. When deputies arrived, they detained two 15-year-old boys who matched the description of teens seen leaving the property and then walked roughly half a mile to check on the home itself.
‘Incredibly disturbing’ scene inside Key Peninsula home
Cappetto added that deputies quickly realized they were dealing with far more than a simple trespass.
“What they found was incredibly disturbing,” Cappetto said. “As they’re walking up to the home, you can hear a flooding amount of water pouring from inside the home, upstairs and downstairs. And you see as the deputies approach the home that there’s water gushing from the frame of the house into the driveway, and they go up and get into the home, and the water is coming from the ceiling fixtures.
“The floors are flooded,” she continued. “There are cans of paint spewed all over the carpets and hardwood floors and the walls. The windows are broken. All of the utilities were tossed over and ripped from the wall. Just the sight was so incredibly sad, knowing that somebody was trying to sell this home. Obviously, this is going to cost the homeowners likely over $100,000.”
Cappetto said the deputies who photographed the damage were “pretty devastated” by what they saw, noting that the home’s plumbing system and interior were heavily damaged and the house was flooded from top to bottom.
About $100,000 in damage
Cappetto said the damage touched nearly every part of the house.
“This home is going to be about $100,000 in damages, to include flooding of the plumbing system and light fixtures and the utilities ripped from the wall,” Cappetto said.
She added that because the suspects are juveniles, it is “very unlikely” any significant financial responsibility will fall on them, leaving the homeowner to absorb most of the cost.
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Teens arrested, facing felonies
After seeing the extent of the damage, deputies arrested both teens. They are facing felony burglary in the first degree and felony malicious mischief in the first degree, and both were booked into Remann Hall Juvenile Justice Center.
Cappetto also noted this isn’t an isolated case, pointing to a similar incident in the Graham area where teens allegedly broke into a vacant home, held a party, and “destroyed that home as well.”
She urged homeowners with vacant properties for sale to consider installing security systems to help prevent this kind of destruction.
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