5 young thieves charged for first break-in
Five young alleged thieves, who are between the ages of 15 to 17 years, all of Orange Walk Town, have been released on a bail of $1,000 each, offered to them by the Orange Walk Magistrate’s Court, and were ordered to return to court on December 17.
Three of the thieves pled guilty to burglary, while two pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods. The court ordered the Human Services Department to carry out an investigation on the 5 minors, present a report and make recommendations to the court before sentencing is passed on them, when they are returned to court.
Police said that the minors were taken to court for the first burglary of San Francisco Primary School in Orange Walk Town that occurred sometime between Sunday and Monday morning, November 3 and 4. Seven computers were stolen, among other items, from the school’s computer lab.
A police investigation led to the arrest of the five minors, one of whom confessed to the burglary of the school, and with his cooperation, police recovered six of the seven computers. The minors were then charged with burglary and handling stolen goods. After they were offered bail, the minors were handed over to the Human Services Department.
Police said that when they arrived at San Francisco Primary School on Monday, November 4, after receiving a burglary report, they saw a large hole at the back window of the computer lab and some drums were below the window. Police believed that the drums were used by the robbers to stand on to remove the A/C unit, which has a shelf, and from there, the thieves gained entry to the computer lab.
The principal of the San Francisco Primary School told police that the school had 21 computers, and when the computer teacher checked, she counted only 14. Also stolen were new flat screen monitors that were donated to the school by generous individuals who responded to the school’s call for assistance. Also, the teacher’s markers were stolen – the police found some of them behind the building, along with wires for the computers, which were all cut and destroyed.
There was yet another break-in at the school sometime during the night of Thursday, November 7, which was rainy. Many classrooms were vandalized. The thieves also ransacked four classrooms at the upper division; they additionally gained entry into the infant division and into four other classrooms.
The thieves also burglarized the snack shop, from which they stole bottled juices, the cooler, and bottled water.
Police have launched another investigation to find the thieves responsible for the second break-in.