School targeted by burglaries

GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) - Georgetown High School has been burglarized six times this year according to police. Even worse, the burglars are still on the loose and taxpayers are having to make up for the thousands of dollars lost.

The latest break-in was Monday morning.

Before 6 a.m. on Monday, police said the thieves used tools to break in to the high school through the school cafeteria. The school has an alarm system and combined with Georgetown police's surveillance video, it is still not enough to catch the criminals.

"The individuals we are still looking for have forced their way in the school and ransacked the school,” said Lt. Todd Terbush, Georgetown Police Department.

Neither the Georgetown Independent School District nor the Georgetown Police Department would comment on how much the six recent break-ins have cost.

However, Terbush said, "it's a very substantial amount."

Police said the stolen items include high-priced musical instruments, camera equipment and an undisclosed amount of school-fundraising money.

"Anything they can use to take and pawn or get rid of on eBay or Craigslist,” said Terbush.

Still, the costs do not end there. During each break-in, the suspects leave behind damaged doors, windows and desks.

"The school district and the taxpayers are at cost or liable for that cost that’s been incurred," said Terbush. "They're going to have to replace the desks the windows and parts of the doors."

Investigators do not know if all six cases are linked but said in one case, the burglars seemed to have the same mode of operation. However, the most recent break-in nearly landed the thieves in jail.

“On the last burglary, we witnessed two people running and jumping a fence," said Terbush. "We targeted those individuals and did lose them in an apartment complex."

While it was too dark to get descriptions of the two, police found some stolen money near the fence bordering the school. They also found tools which they are dusting for fingerprints.