INDIANA COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM SCHOOLThree charged with stealing instrumentsThree charged with stealing instruments

Peggy Vlerebome
Courier Staff Writer

Three teens who have been on the honor rolls frequently were charged with stealing electronic equipment and enough musical instruments from Madison Consolidated High School that a plea was about to be issued to borrow some for the spring concert Monday.

Jun Kato, 19, of 2347 Sunset Court was charged with burglary. Daniel Boothe, 18, 9353 N. Brushy Fork in Canaan was charged with two burglaries. Nicholas “Nick” Gardner, 18, of 1431 E. Fulton St. was charged with theft.

Kato was on the honor rolls for the first and second grading periods this school year. Last year as a junior, he was on the honor roll three times.

Gardner received a varsity letter in swimming in March and was on the honor roll for the second grading period this school year. He was also on the honor roll once last year as a junior and twice in the 10th grade.

Boothe was on the honor roll once in his junior year and twice in his sophomore year.

Kato was arrested Thursday afternoon and Gardner was arrested Thursday night. Boothe was arrested Friday morning.

Madison police said they recovered six of the nine stolen musical instruments and all of the equipment. The stolen goods were at a Louisville, Ky., pawn shop, but three of the instruments had been sold, MCHS principal Jeff Dhonau said.

The instruments — flutes and clarinets — were back in the students’ hands by band practice Friday afternoon, a day after they were taken from the locked band room. Also back home in the band room was a French horn that no one had realized was missing because there is no French horn player in the band this year, said Aaron Nicholson, the junior high band director who was filling in a few days this week at the high school. Earlier Friday, Nicholson was ready to ask the public to lend instruments, but enough were returned that everyone had what they needed.

Police went to the school April 27 and again Thursday to investigate thefts in which nine musical instruments, four laptop computers, three LCD projectors and three computer monitors were taken. Dhonau said he doesn’t think any student information was on any of the computers, which were taken from the guidance and social studies offices.

Both times the school was entered, the film was removed from a security camera, Dhonau said. The camera film was removed again Thursday night or Friday morning, but the school was not entered that time, he said.

The theft of band instruments was discovered Thursday afternoon when band practice started.

“Nothing seemed out of place at first, until the flute players had no instruments,” Nicholson said Friday.

The lockers are unlocked cages in the band room, which Nicholson said is always locked, as are the doors leading to the band wing and the door of the band office.

“Whoever it was has a master key,” he said. “They locked the doors behind them except for the band office.” The Madison police press release about the arrests did not state how the school was entered.

The concert, which will be an all-bands concert — the high school band and the cadet band, concert band and wind ensemble from the junior high school — will be at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the high school auditorium. It is free and open to the public.