UTAH COMPUTERS STOLEN http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/article_c860bbaa-6ffb-5d96-a9ae-b4deef9f121c.html

Two suspects arrested in school computer thefts

OREM -- Detectives arrested two people in connection with last weekend's burglary at Foothill Elementary School, thanks in part to information the suspects posted on Facebook.

Vai Fungalei, 20, and Aisea Ngatuvai, 23, both from Orem, were arrested Wednesday and booked into the Utah County Jail. Ngatuvai was booked on charges of theft and burglary. Fungalei was booked on charges of criminal mischief, theft and burglary. There is at least one more person involved, police say. That third suspect is out of town for the holidays, and police expect to arrest him when he returns.

Alpine School District spokeswoman Rhonda Bromley said that among the property stolen from Foothill Elementary was a school camera, 14 iMac desktop computers and the entire portable computer lab, which included 32 laptop computers. The portable computer lab was new and allowed teachers to transport computers to different classrooms.

Facebook posts were a crucial clue for Orem police in breaking the theft ring and recovering all but three of the 48 computers stolen Monday from Foothill Elementary. Orem police Sgt. Craig Martinez said detectives followed a lead from a person who saw suspicious Facebook posts.

"These guys were saying, not necessarily saying that they had burglarized, but saying it was going to be a good Christmas this year and some stuff like that. Some people saw those posts in conjunction with the news about the burglary," Martinez said.

Police say Fungalei, Ngatuvai and the third person took the computers to Salt Lake for sale.

The suspects have been linked to four school burglaries and got away with more than $100,000 dollars in property, Martinez said.

In 2009 Amelia Earhart and Sunset View elementary schools in Provo were burglarized. Martinez said most of those computers had been sold and would take a while to trace, but some had been recovered. In late 2009, Northridge Elementary School in Orem was also burglarized.

Police expect to file more charges when the investigation is complete.

Martinez said the Orem detectives have been working non-stop for the last three days and today the lead detective was back on the job after only four hours of sleep.

The Foothill school computers were in good shape when they were recovered and police expect to return them to the school Monday. "We want to get the computers back to the kids," Martinez said. "That's what made this case kind of a priority, they stole from a school, and with the economy the way it is you can't just go out and buy all new computers."