Arson destroys Grande Ronde church; two teenagers facing felony charges

     GRANDE RONDE — A fire destroyed the Nazarene church in this Polk County community July 3, another blaze the previous day damaged a local elementary school, and two teenagers face felony arson charges as a result..
Larry Wayne Whitley, 18, of Grande Ronde was arrested Wednesday evening, July 4, at his home, said Polk County Sheriff Bob Wolfe. Whitley lives about 500 yards from where the two buildings stood across the street from each other.
      Also arrested was a 14-year-old Willamina boy. He was taken into custody in a McMinnville law office with his parents present and was taken to Yamhill County Juvenile Detention Facility in McMinnville, where Polk County rents space for its juvenile offenders.
      As reported by the Statesman-Journal newspaper of Salem, the Church of the Nazarene at 8775 Grande Ronde Road was considered a total loss by fire investigators. The building was insured.
      Anarchy symbols, pentagrams, religious slurs and swastikas were spray-painted on a back wall of the church. The same type of graffiti was found at Grande Ronde Elementary School, linking the two crimes.
      A classroom window at the school had been broken, but the fire extinguished itself after burning part of the carpet and minimal smoke damage was reported.
      Both fires were caused by Molotov cocktails, according to Wolfe.
Wolfe said residents in a nearby neighborhood, known as Bunnsville, helped tip county investigators to a suspect. He said his detectives and deputies worked very hard —almost nonstop —on the case until the arrests took place.
      Deputies found evidence of three Molotov cocktails made at Whitley’s home, said Wolfe. He said investigators also found a footprint belonging to one of the suspects on a round piece of tempered glass that was kicked out from the elementary school.
      David Crabb, pastor of the Nazarene church, told the newspaper that he and his wife had an emotional meeting with the mother of one of the suspects after the arrests, with hugs and tears exchanged. He said he had suspected all along that the damage was caused by teenagers looking for a thrill.
      For now, the Grande Ronde Nazarene congregation is meeting in a community annex building that was untouched by the fire. Their destroyed building had included a historic interior —the sanctuary had wall to wall carpeting, pews made of blonde wood and colored glass windows on either side.
      The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, the Oregon Department of Justice and the Oregon State Police arson team were also involved in the investigation.