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Two teens charged with burning down LaFayette’s water-sewer department building have each been sentenced to 18 months in a youth detention center and $4,000 restitution.

Juvenile Court Judge Bryant Henry handed down the sentence Monday afternoon.

Prosecutors had petitioned the court to try the 15-year-old boys as adults.

They were accused of setting fire to the building on New Year's Day and charged with first-degree arson, burglary, and interference with government property.

Local officials estimated damages at more than $500,000.

We were satisfied with the outcome," District Attorney Herbert Franklin said following Monday’s plea agreement.

If the teenagers had been tried and found guilty as adults, the charges could have resulted in a maximum sentence of 40 years for the burglary and arson charges.

LaFayette police said the arson was linked to the teens emulating roles portrayed in a popular movie and video game.

“The arsonists called their criminal act ‘the destruction tour,’” LaFayette public safety director Tommy Freeman said during the investigation of the fire. "They told us directly that these sources influenced them."

In the video game, the mission was to complete a so-called “destruction tour.” Characters are rewarded bonuses for destroying or stealing objects. The emphasis of the game is depicted as, the more destruction created by the player, the more points he will accumulate.

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