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Burglar targeting computers in Arlington school district

12:17 AM CDT on Saturday, August 29, 2009

By TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News
teiserer@dallasnews.com

Authorities are seeking help to solve a string of computer burglaries at nine elementary schools in the Arlington school district.

Since mid-May, more than 80 computers have been stolen during 13 burglaries at the schools.

"We believe it's the same suspect," said Tiara Ellis, an Arlington police spokeswoman. "The method they're using is similar: They break windows, steal computers and then get back out."

Eight of the schools are in Arlington and are spread out geographically. The ninth is in Grand Prairie.

Wimbish Elementary School in north Arlington has been hit four times.

Atherton Elementary School in southeast Arlington has been burglarized twice, including Friday morning when teachers arrived to find classroom windows broken and computers missing.

Police released low-resolution still photos from surveillance footage of the suspected burglar. He is a thin, black man with a gold or diamond earring in his right ear. In one of the photos, he is wearing a do-rag or head scarf.

One photo also shows an older model, four-door dark-colored Chevy Caprice or Oldsmobile that police think the burglar was driving.

The vehicle has one chrome-colored hubcap on the front driver's side and a missing hubcap on the rear driver's side.

Anyone with information can call Arlington police at 817-459-5667 or Crime Stoppers at 817-469-8477.

"Police are looking for someone that knows the guy and is willing to come forward," Ellis said.

"They can do so anonymously through Crime Stoppers. In the long run, the ones most impacted by this are the children," she said.