Hillside Elementary School thefts suspect arrested

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- For three nights in a row, an elementary school in San Bernardino was broken into and had thousands of dollars in property stolen.

About 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, a silent alarm went off at Hillside Elementary School and police were on their way. When they arrived, they found a 17-year-old suspect jumping over a fence and arrested him. A second suspect was able to get away.

School officials said close to $5,000 in property had been stolen in the string of burglaries during the school's spring break. Though thieves got away twice before, police said this time they apparently tried to get into several rooms, giving police extra time to get there.

"This time, unfortunately for them, the San Bernardino Police Department was there and was able to take a person into custody for this," San Bernardino Police Lt. Paul Williams said.

Authorities have not yet determined whether the suspect is also responsible for all three break-ins.

Two iMac desktop computers were recovered Wednesday morning. However, officials said there are still thousands of dollars of missing property unaccounted for.

"It's stealing from children and it's stealing from the school district and we just can't afford that," said Judene McCrory, a grandparent. "We don't need bad people doing that to our children and our schools."

Anyone with information on the break-ins or a possible second suspect is asked to call San Bernardino police at (909) 388-6130.

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san bernardino county, school, burglary, arrest, inland empire news, rob mcmillan

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