Three students face raps for MHS theft

Three students are facing criminal charges for allegedly barging inside the Marianas High School and stealing equipment and valuables worth some $1,200.

Charges of burglary, theft and conspiracy have been filed against the three students at the Superior Court. The students allegedly carried out the burglary on the night when one of them, Sohn C. Macaranas, celebrated his 18th birthday.

The two other defendants include Ernesto B. Sablan and Emmanuel A. Matagolai, who are 18 and 19 years old, respectively. Two other students who are below 18 years old allegedly joined the group in committing the theft.

Police arrested the first three students sometime last week after seeking arrest warrants from Superior Court Presiding Judge Robert Naraja.

Investigation conducted by the police department’s Thief Apprehension Select Coalition showed that the five students burglarized the school’s Room J-106 last June 1. The stolen items include a laptop computer, playstation and DVD players, and two cellular phone units.

JROTC instructor Pedro Gloria discovered that the classroom had been burglarized when he arrived the following morning and found it in disarray.

School authorities suspected the involvement of students in the burglary. Another JROTC instructor, Ernie Torres, said that he saw one of the students picking on the classroom’s door lock before the incident happened.

That student, who is below 18 years old, admitted to police that he met with his cohorts at about 11pm on June 1 at a donut store in Susupe, where they planned about the burglary. According to police detective Simon T. Manacop, the group boarded Macaranas’ pickup truck and headed to the northern gate of MHS, from where they entered the school premises by climbing through the fence.

Macaranas confessed to the offenses in his statement to police and corroborated the narration of the other student.

Earlier this month, operatives also nabbed three teenage boys who allegedly set fire to a Kagman High School classroom on the night of May 28.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Eric F. David did not disclose the identities of the suspects in the KHS fire, who are all juveniles. But he described the age of two suspects and another one as 15 and 16, respectively.

The spokesman did not say if the suspects are KHS students. Although he did not elaborate on the case, there were indications that the charges could include burglary and theft, besides arson.

David said the joint task force that arrested the suspects included members of the Thief Apprehension Select Coalition. The task force also included elements of the DPS Special Investigation Section and fire investigators.

David said the suspects intentionally set fire to the school’s Environmental Science and Oceanography Room after burglarizing at least two classrooms.

The fire gutted some $50,000-worth of computer and information technology equipment, including LCD projectors and a laptop acquired through federal grants. A 29-inch television had melted due to the intensity of the heat; the fire reduced microscopes, desktop computers, printers, and wireless computer modems to cinders.