Official’s son, 2 other teens face felony burglary

PHOTOGRAPHER: Tatiana Zarnowski

Three of five Saratoga Springs-area teenagers accused of trashing a Wilton luxury apartment complex’s clubhouse, including the son of the Saratoga County administrator, have been indicted on felony burglary charges.

Spencer P. Hellwig IV of East Avenue, Saratoga Springs; Jacob Hyland of Ascot Circle, Wilton; and Jordan Canino of Ballston Avenue, Saratoga Springs, all 18, were indicted on third-degree burglary, a felony, and fourth-degree criminal mischief and endangering the welfare of a child, misdemeanors.

Hellwig is the son of Saratoga County Administrator Spencer Hellwig III.

A Saratoga County grand jury handed up the indictments Friday.

The three are accused of breaking into and vandalizing the community clubhouse at the Paddocks of Saratoga off of Old Gick Road in Wilton on Jan. 22 or 23, causing $1,069 in damage.

Police also originally charged Connor J. Tremblay, 17, of Ruggles Road, Saratoga Springs, and Michael Foley, 18, of Arrowhead Road, Saratoga Springs. The status of their cases could not immediately be determined Friday afternoon.

All five teens originally faced only misdemeanor charges before special prosecutor Emilee Davenport presented the case to the grand jury.

Davenport is an assistant Warren County district attorney who was appointed to the case when Saratoga County DA James A. Murphy III recused himself.

Authorities said previously that maintenance workers discovered the damage when they opened the clubhouse for business Jan. 23 and found Hellwig and Tremblay sleeping in the clubhouse movie theater. They also found broken pool cues, beer poured into the coffee maker, a cleaning closet broken open, toilet cleaner sprayed onto the walls and ceilings and the pool table covered with beer. About 60 empty beer cans were found in the clubhouse, police said then.

The two teens gave maintenance workers fake names when confronted, then fled in a vehicle, police said. But one worker wrote down the license plate number, and police traced it to Tremblay’s family.

The five were arrested in February.

Previously, Hellwig and Hyland were arrested on felony criminal mischief charges in April 2012 after police said they and another boy went on a BB-gun shooting spree, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage to windows, cars and other property in Saratoga Springs and Wilton.

They allegedly used a baseball bat to bash in mailboxes and other property, police said previously.

All three were eligible for youthful offender status and their records were sealed.