On November 30, 2006, the main building of the high school was destroyed by arson. Although it would be many months before the perpetrators were known, the news media later widely cited the fire as a racially charged event leading up to the assault on Barker. On December 28, 2007, LaSalle Parish Sheriff- elect Scott Franklin announced that an investigation had shown that the fire was set in an effort to destroy grade records in the building and to close the school for a time. Six male suspects (three juveniles and three adults) had been arrested, and two more adult males were being sought. They were racially diverse. Franklin indicated that the fire was not racially motivated, and had no connection to the Jena Six. Two of the arson defendants pleaded guilty, and were sentenced to ten years in prison, with restitution ordered in the amount of $10 million.