VERMONT COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM HIGH SCHOOL The Times Argus Online - 20 computers stolen from school lab20 computers stolen from school lab
March 20, 2004

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SOUTH BURLINGTON - Police on Friday were investigating the theft of tens of thousands of dollars of computer equipment from the South Burlington High School.

A teacher discovered the empty computer lab on Thursday morning.

Between two and four thieves broke into the school and then the computer lab between midnight and 4 a.m. Thursday, said South Burlington police Cpl. Diane Reynolds.

The thieves made off with 20 iMacs and Gateway computers, 12 computer monitors, two networking hubs and a projector, Reynolds said.

The items - worth more than $20,000 - were stolen from a room in the foreign-language wing, Principal Patrick Burke said.

Reynolds said she has several suspects, all of whom are in their late teens or early 20s and students at the school. She interviewed one suspect Thursday and planned to talk to another one on Friday, she said.

Some evidence from the scene was sent to a lab for fingerprint and DNA analysis, Reynolds said.

The theft will affect studies at the school, Burke said. The computers had special software for studying and communicating in foreign languages, he said.

"That lab is used every period of the day, and teachers build their lesson plans weeks in advance in anticipation of using that lab," the principal said. "It's a bigger loss educationally than the money."

There are markings on the computers that identify them as property of South Burlington High School, and police know the serial numbers of the machines, Reynolds said. She cautioned people to be wary of anyone selling used computers.

Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call South Burlington police at 846-4111 or Champlain Valley Crime Stoppers at 864-6666