ILLINOIS COMPUTER THIEVES CHARGED http://www.pioneerlocal.com/highlandpark/news/1486263,hp-burglaries-031909-s1.article

Three charged in Highland Park burglaries

Highland Park police have arrested three local men in connection with two recent burglaries at local schools.

Robert Alvarez, 17, and Ruben Moncivaiz Sr., 33, both of 1229 Central Ave., Highland Park, and Valente Ramos Jr., 39, of 236 Llewellyn Ave., Highwood, were arrested Mar. 17 during a traffic stop. Police had the men under surveillance prior to their arrest.

Police believe the three men are linked to two burglaries of North Shore School District 112 schools this month. First, burglars broke into Elm Place Middle School, 2031 Sheridan Road, Mar. 1 and took computers from the school. The following weekend, a Highland Park police officer on patrol noticed a door ajar at Northwoods Junior High School, 945 North Ave. The door had been forced open. In that case, burglars made off with 35 computers, a combination of laptop and desktop models. They also tagged the school with graffiti.

The two burglaries resulted in more than $50,000 in property damage and loss, school officials told police.

Highland Park Cmdr. Gerald Cameron said Thursday that information from the public lead police to the three men. In the investigation, police conducted more than 30 interviews that lead them to develop specific "persons of interest."

When police arrested the three men this week, they said they found "partial proceeds" from the two burglaries in the vehicle. Together with a search warrant police executed Mar. 18 at a residence in Waukegan, they recovered an estimated $20,000 in desktop computers and equipment.

Cameron praised the police work in the case.

"I'm very proud of our people," he said. "They worked a lot of late nights. There was a lot of good police work done by our officers and investigators."

Initially the three men were each charged with one count of felony burglary and one count of theft/possession of stolen government property.

They were in court Mar. 19, where their bonds were set pending an Apr. 13 court hearing at the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan.