KANE — Two men were arraigned before the district judge on allegations they broke into Kane Area High School in January, causing damage and taking several items.
Jacob James Bailey, 21, of 18 N. Oak St., Kane, and Levi Thomas Haberberger, 19, of 2 Boyd St., Mount Jewett, are each charged with burglary, a second-degree felony; theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property, both first-degree misdemeanors; criminal mischief, a second-degree misdemeanor; and defiant trespassing, a summary charge, court records stated.
Court records said on the morning of Jan. 2, Kane-based state police were dispatched to the school to investigate a break-in that occurred overnight. A steel reinforced window had been broken so someone could enter the shop building, located behind the school, causing “considerable damage” to the office.
“Inside the office it was apparent that the desks had been ransacked as items from inside the desks had been scattered throughout the office,” court records said. “The two computer monitors located in the office had also been smashed.”
The lock on the tool room was broken, too; in that room, tools were scattered around the floor and cabinets had been rummaged through, according to court records.
Another broken window was found in the rear of the school, and someone allegedly entered there and caused more damage. For instance, there were broken locks on several lockers. “Much of what had been inside the lockers was strewn around the lockers on the ground,” court records stated.
Police followed footprints in the snow from the building, across the athletic field to a gate in a fence. The gate was locked, but a portion of the fence had been detached from the gate so someone could enter. Police continued following footsteps on the other side of the fence to a spot where a vehicle had recently been parked.
On the snow near the spot where the passenger side of the vehicle had been was a receipt for the Dollar General store in Kane. At the store, police were able to identify Bailey in security camera footage from the time in the timestamp on the receipt, court records stated. A store employee recalled that Bailey and Haberberger had been in the night before to make a purchase.
The pair is also accused of stealing items from the school including pliers, a feelers gauge, a hammer, an electric saw, gloves and three bags, court records indicated.
During interviews with police, both men confessed to their roles in the alleged incident, according to court records.
Court records did not indicate a monetary estimate of the damage, but, according to the Pennsylvania statute regarding criminal mischief, the charge is graded as a second-degree misdemeanor when the damage is more than $1,000 but not more than $5,000.
Both men were released on $2,500 unsecured bail. Haberberger is scheduled to appear in Central Court on Thursday, and Bailey is scheduled to appear in Central Court on Feb. 16.
