The courtroom was a little busier than normal during youth court Friday, when several of the victims of a vandalism spree sat in on the admission/denial hearings for three local teens charged with the crimes.

Shadeau Fritz, 16, of Kalispell, Maclean Ryder, 17, of Kila, and Francisco Diaz Manzo, 17, a resident of the county, denied the allegations against them during the hearing in Flathead District Court. The fourth suspect, 14-year-old Matthew Winchester of Kalispell, has his admission/denial hearing on Nov. 7.

The four youths are alleged to have shot out windows of more than 100 vehicles across town during the early morning hours of Sept. 15, for which they have each been charged with felony criminal mischief.

Despite the run-and-gun nature of the crime, the teens were arrested by the next day, thanks to an anonymous tipster who was recently awarded $800 for their assistance.

According to Kalispell Chief of Police Roger Nasset, officers were initially only able to determine vague information about the suspect vehicle — a small, possibly white passenger car with a loud exhaust.

But at 5 p.m. on Sept. 15, the tipster — also a victim of the vandals — provided possible suspects and vehicle information. The tipster went on to follow up with police after searching Facebook and coming up with pictures of a suspect and the suspect vehicle, which led to the arrests.

“The most effective police work is completed with the assistance of the public and in this case the extraordinary efforts of a citizen that was willing to come forward and provide critical information,” Nasset wrote.

In fact, the police department presented the case to Flathead Crimestoppers for award consideration even though the tipster never asked for any kind of reward. The Crimestoppers board unanimously supported the reward.

Court documents in the teens’ cases allege each admitted to either police or family that they were involved with the crimes — with Winchester admitting to police he shot out no more than 10 windows, Manzo admitting shooting out six, and Fritz admitting to being behind the wheel, while Ryder was overheard admitting to his mother over the phone that he was involved.

The documents also allege Fritz and Winchester told police that Fritz was at the wheel when they made a big circle around town, went into the west side of town and then down into Evergreen while each of the four took turns shooting out windows.

Nasset has said each of the four have shown some remorse and shame for their alleged actions.

Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.