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SLO High grads arrested for burning computer lab

December 8, 2016
Jacob Ruth, Cameron Bratcher and Michael Benadiba

Jacob Ruth, Cameron Bratcher and Michael Benadiba

Correction: All three suspects attended San Luis Obispo High, but only Jacob Ruth graduated from the school.

Following an overnight fire that destroyed the San Luis Obispo High School computer lab, police officers arrested three recent graduates of the school on felony charges of arson, burglary and vandalism.

Shortly after midnight on Thursday, firefighters responded to a fire alarm at building 800, which houses the high school’s computer lab. The firefighters saved the building, but the computer lab and its contents were a total loss, according to the San Luis Obispo Police Department.

While firefighters were suppressing the fire, dispatchers received a call from a resident of Alta Drive who reported seeing three men park their car and jump over a fence. The fence led to the scene of the fire, a police department press release states.

Officers responded and located San Luis Obispo residents Jacob Ruth, 19, Michael Benadiba, 18, and Cameron Bratcher, 18. Police detained the suspects, conducted an investigation and then arrested the men and booked them into the SLO County Jail.

Each of the suspects remains in custody with their bail set at $25,000.

An investigation is ongoing. Detectives are trying to determine whether the suspects can be linked to any other crimes involving arson or burglary.

The Facebook profiles of Ruth and Bratcher both state they currently attend Cuesta College.


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So whatever the issue these jerks had with the teacher, they brooded on it for a year and now acted? That is rather sick and twisted. They should do hard time.


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Since when is setting a high school classroom a case of boys will be boys? I went to high school when things were a lot looser than they are now but committing arson at a public high school was a felony even then, regardless of whether there were any injures or deaths. I guess it’s lucky these weren’t “girls” or they wouldn’t be able to benefit from the boys’ code.


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Unfortunate scenario of boys being boys. It will give them a record, and it will take a lot of time & money to repair. But thankfully nobody was seriously hurt and the fire was contained.


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1965buick, you can’t be serious. Or do you have 1967 Mercury Cougar envy?


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“boys being boys” is your defense of these young adults? Trying to light your farts on fire at age 10 is boys being boys. Breaking into a classroom, specifically targeting a teacher, and lighting the place on fire is criminal and not to be made light of.


Take a moment and think about this from Mrs. Fetcho’s perspective. She has been a dedicated and caring teacher for 23 years at SLOHS. Five periods a day she teaches classes and all her resources were in that room. She has put in thousands of (unpaid) hours before and after school to make the Robotics Team a valuable resource for students.


There are two other classrooms that have been displaced/destroyed, including a special ed class. If you think this is tough on neurotypical students, imagine the special needs students at this time. Students are frightened, angry and confused.


Three teachers have lost years of lessons and materials, most created or bought by themselves. The school district will get a big insurance check, but those teachers will never get reimbursed for the excessive amount of time they will need to write new lessons and purchase new personal items for themselves and students.


This “boys being boys” attitude is not only WRONG it is insensitive, uncaring and certainly not accurate.


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Well said, SLOeducator- very well said. Thank you for stepping forward and sharing your observations and insight.


This incident had nothing to do with “boys being boys.”


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Thank you panflash.


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Would you have the same flippant attitude if your kitchen had been destroyed by their felonious act? I think not.


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These behaviors need to be addressed, not brushed off or allowed under the guise that it’s just a matter of fact that “boys will be boys.” These are the times when we need to say we expect better.

We cannot hand over a free pass for hurting others…and that’s exactly what happens when people say “boys will be boys.”

When people excuse bad behavior by attributing it to “just being boys,” they’re removing personal responsibility. If we don’t hold our kids accountable for their actions, we can’t be surprised by their behavior.


No matter how awful the behavior, the message being sent is you’re not at fault and that there are no other options. They couldn’t have done anything else, really. I mean, they’re boys. What were they supposed to do?

I’ve known thousands of high school kids — about half of them boys. I’ve seen no predisposition to being a jerk based on whether someone checks the box Male or Female. None. So let’s not excuse physical aggression, volatile behavior, cruelty or any other kind of undesired behavior with “boys will be boys” because when we say that, the other message being sent is you can’t do any better than that, boys, it’s just what you’re wired to be. And I, for one, believe that all boys CAN do better.


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This is a sad story. It is so unfortunate for the students on the Robotics team, who had a competition coming up. It appears that all or part of their hard work is destroyed.


Also, according to The Tribune, only one of the accused suspects graduated from SLOHS, although all were former students: “San Luis Obispo High School Principal Leslie O’Connor said the three men were all former San Luis Obispo High School students; Ruth graduated, and Bratcher withdrew from school in 2015. Benadiba transferred to Pacific Beach High School before moving on to an adult school.”


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These three scum-sucking bastards need to do some jail time.


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Now they can make license plates for Jacob’s prized Mercury Cougar.


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Was there something on those computers they wanted completely destroyed?


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This disgraceful! I feel terrible for those poor students whose projects were destroyed because of these idiots!


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If they saved it to the cloud, they can retrieve it or just have the NSA send it to them,


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On a more serious note, the hardware end of things is rather essential too.


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Good Job neighborhood watch!


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