Teens burglarize WSR school

Police arrested two men who allegedly instructed a group of teenagers to burglarize the William S. Reyes Elementary School in Chalan Kanoa, where laptops and other items worth $7,801.40 were stolen last Dec. 20.

Ignacio Leon Guerrero, 33, was arrested in Chalan Kanoa on Tuesday night for conspiracy, burglary, and theft, while Vincent Sanchez, 19, was apprehended in Chalan Kanoa on Wednesday night on the same charges.

Three male teenagers were also arrested, but the case against them was sealed because they are juveniles.

Police said Leon Guerrero, Sanchez, and the three juveniles all confessed to their participation.

Police recovered some of the stolen items at Leon Guerrero’s house, located along Emilia Avenue in Chalan Kanoa, during a search last Dec. 29.

At a hearing yesterday, Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo imposed $20,000 cash bail each for Leon Guerrero and Sanchez.

Govendo prohibited Leon Guerrero and Sanchez from having direct or indirect contact with William S. Reyes Elementary School as part of the bail conditions.

Preliminary hearing will be on Jan. 23 at 9am.

Police detective Olympio S. Muna stated in his report that a police officer was dispatched to WSR school last Dec. 21 at 6:19pm after police received a call about a burglary incident.

Muna said the officer learned from a WSR staff that burglars entered three classrooms, the maintenance building, and the library.

Stolen were different brands of laptops, hard drives, netbooks, power drills, water blaster, and routers. The items were purchased using CNMI and federal funds.

Muna said that two days later, on Dec. 23, he and another detective met at WSR with a woman who provided information about the burglary and also disclosed that her son’s stolen bicycle was seen at Leon Guerrero’s house.

Muna said that later that same day, they saw a 15-year-old boy, who was named by the tipster as one of the suspects in the burglary, walking out from the gate of Leon Guerrero’s house.

Muna said they escorted the 15-year-old boy to the Commonwealth Bureau of Investigation and interviewed him in his mother’s presence.

The detective said the boy admitted that he, Sanchez, and a 14-year-old boy burglarized WSR, where they stole a water blaster, laptops, small bike and router on Dec. 20 at 8pm.

The 15-year-old boy said Leon Guerrero, also known as Jun Kabayo, instructed him to get things for him at WSR. He admitted that they brought all the stolen items from the school to Leon Guerrero’s house.

The boy stated that he followed Leon Guerrero’s instructions because he was scared that Leon Guerrero may beat him up.

Muna said on Dec. 27 they interviewed the 14-year-old suspect, who in the presence of his mother, also confessed his participation and mentioned another boy as having been with them.

The 14-year-old boy said he and the “other boy” were the first ones to burglarize WSR, where the two of them stole food from the maintenance room, after playing soccer at the school.

The 14-year-old boy said the “other boy” told Leon Guerrero that they burglarized WSR. He said Leon Guerrero then forced Sanchez and three of them to burglarize the school’s maintenance room and take items to sell them.

Sanchez and the three minors then proceeded that same night to the school and stole laptops and other items. They brought the stolen items to Leon Guerrero’s house.

Muna said during a search at Leon Guerrero’s house last Dec. 29, they recovered one black Acer and one black HP laptops that have WSR markings.

Muna said Leon Guerrero said the two boys brought the laptops to his house “to fix it.”

Muna said the “other boy” also confessed last Dec. 31 that he and the 14-year-old boy first burglarized the school where they stole food after their soccer game.

Muna said last Jan. 5, Sanchez also confessed that it was his plan to burglarize the school, where they stole laptops and other items.

Sanchez also allegedly admitted that they brought the stolen items to Leon Guerrero’s house.