ILLINOIS COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM SCHOOLSDaily Herald | News2 teens face sentencing for numerous school break-ins
By Tona Kunz
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Thursday, July 21, 2005

When Steve McInerney walked into his office last August at St. Charles North High School, he had to step over glass and past splinters of wood.

The chaos would only get worse as the dean of students toured the rest of the building.

Bleachers were in the pool. A table used at football games was crumbled where it had been thrown from a balcony. The rear window of the driver’s education car was beat out. In the wake of disheveled desks, pried-open file cabinets and splintered doors, some computers, video equipment and the school mascot costume were gone. Nearly every area of the sprawling 2,100-student building had been violated.

“It was kind of made you sick to your stomach to see the damage that was done,” McInerney testified on the first day of sentencing for two men found guilty of break-ins at a string of schools and businesses between April and August 2004.

Prosecutors brought forth a quartet of victims to show the emotional and financial cost of the rampage undertook by Joseph Von Essen, 19, of Elgin and Michael Ross, 19, of South Elgin.

Sitting in court, the men, both Elgin High School alumni, seemed unfazed other than to critique what was claimed to have been stolen and grin widely when a theft of adult DVDs was mentioned.

Defense attorneys for the men are hoping to walk away with probation and a restitution figure whittled down by insurance adjustments and the reselling of damaged loot.

A third man, Nathan Lohs, 19, of Elgin received a sentence of 150 hours of community service and monthly meetings in the county’s second chance program, but he was only accused of helping with the St. Charles North High School break-in.

Prosecutors say the other men made a habit of theft. St. Charles school officials are adamant about wanting the men to spend time in jail.

The men confessed to breaking into Otter Creek Elementary School in Elgin, Corron Elementary School and Willard Elementary School, both in South Elgin; St. Charles North High School and The Norris Recreational Center in St. Charles, as well as an Elgin Marathon gas station and an audio equipment business in West Dundee.

Much of the loot from the break-ins, except for some equipment from St. Charles North High School, was recovered from Von Essen’s home and car as well as a Sleepy Hollow business that resold computers.

School officials said more than half of the 22 laptops taken were not returned or were too damaged to use, as well as some of the camera equipment and other various computer equipment.

Prosecutors said that even though the schools and business have insurance, the men should repay the full amount to keep insurance premiums from rising. St. Charles North High School has the highest damage tab at $56,000, including the cost of overtime to clean up the building and restore equipment to get school ready for registration and the start of fall sports a week later.

School officials said that doesn’t count the damage done to students.

New student computers and equipment for the multimedia club wasn’t ready until nearly a month after school started. Two driver’s education cars were briefly off the road for repairs.

Prosecutors said the men took a calculated approach to the break-ins that showed they were there for money and not childish pranks. They cased the schools learning the police patrol patterns before breaking in. Outfitted in ski masks and gloves, the men disabled the surveillance cameras. In at least two of the buildings, they scaled gutters and entered through roof vents to avoid detection.

The computers recovered had their software wiped to hide all evidence of where they came from and were refitted with what school officials speculated was pirated operating software, making them ready for resale.

Officials hope to finish the sentencing during a Sept. 7 court hearing after prosecutors bring police from West Dundee, South Elgin, St. Charles, Elgin and possible Cook County to testify about the details and impacts of the men’s break-ins.