ILLINOIS COMPUTERS STOLEN Grandview police arrest day-care burglars - Springfield, IL - The State Journal-Register:
Grandview police arrest day-care burglars
Grandview police say they have broken up a ring of alleged teenage burglars who broke into the same daycare center four times in a two-week period.
In all, 10 teenagers were involved in the scheme, said Grandview Police Chief Mike Feleccia.
“These were some brazen people,” he said.
The oldest of the teens is 19-year-old Kenarius M. Williams of the 800 block of East Ridgely Avenue. The rest are juveniles, so their names were not released.
Feleccia said a 15-year-old boy and his 14-year-old girlfriend were the ringleaders. Also arrested were two more 14-year-old girls, another 15-year-old boy, the 16-year-old sister of one of the 14-year-old girls, the sister’s 16-year-old boyfriend and another 16-year-old boy.
A 10th teenager has not been arrested because he has been away from town, but Feleccia said he expects to take the youth into custody on Monday. The others were arrested late Thursday and during the day Friday.
The probe took off earlier this week after a report about the break-ins appeared in The State Journal-Register. Feleccia said the article generated four Crime Stoppers tips, which gave him an idea about where to focus his investigation.
All those arrested were released to their parents or guardians pending a review by juvenile prosecutors. They could be charged with burglary,theft, criminal damage and trespassing.
The target was The Learning Nook, a daycare center at 1628 N. Wolfe St. in Grandview.
The two alleged ringleaders were out for a walk and sat on the steps of the business, and that apparently is when they hatched a plan to break in, Feleccia said.
They used a pocketknife and a credit card to jimmy the back door the night of July 14-15 and stole a computer from inside. The computer contained personal information about employees and customers, but that information apparently was not compromised, daycare owner Lindi Gibson said.
The couple returned the night of July 18-19 with several friends. They allegedly took the computer that Gibson bought to replace the first stolen one, as well as two sets of keys to the center’s vans, which the burglars allegedly used to move the stolen goods.
The emboldened teens allegedly returned again Aug. 7, burglarizing the business twice that night, stealing more computers and electronic equipment, computer games, candy, snacks, bean-bag chairs and office supplies.
The keys to the center’s vans also were stolen, and the thieves began using them to play pranks. Feleccia and Gibson said they would go near the business and set off the vans’ panic alarms, prompting Gibson to have a mechanic change the ignitions.
Three of the computers and some other items have been recovered.
“We know where everything is at now, and we’re trying to get it back,” Feleccia said. “It had been sold, but we were able to track it down.”
Between the value of the stolen goods and the costs of repairs to the vans and the building, the price of the crime spree was more than $10,000.
“All for a little fun,” he said.
Jayette Bolinski can be reached at 788-1530.
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