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Detectives are working to track down a burglar who made off with $10,000 worth of computer equipment from a local elementary school.
The break-in occurred at 3:30 a.m. Thursday, when a custodian at Vieja Valley Elementary reported the school’s alarm had been set off, according to Kelly Hoover, spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies arrived at the campus at 434 Nogal Drive and discovered that seven Apple computers and miscellaneous components had been stolen, Hoover said.
A door and window also were damaged, boosting the cost for repairs and stolen equipment to more than $10,000.
The department has received video surveillance of the incident from the school, Hoover said, and detectives are reviewing that footage.
Because the investigation is ongoing, Hoover said the department won’t be releasing that video just yet, and couldn’t describe the suspect.
“People were shocked because it’s such a safe community and everyone is incredibly disappointed,” Mariann Cooley, the school’s principal, told Noozhawk on Friday.
“It feels like a violation that somebody would come to campus and break in and take something they feel they’re entitled to,” she said. “What’s the thought behind that?”
The school’s video surveillance has been in place for about a year, she said.
Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to call the sheriff’s detective bureau at 805.681.4150.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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