Teens Stuff Keep Going Missing, Sets Up Tracking Device
Shocked Students
The students from the small town in Louisiana were shocked that the principal had done nothing to stop the thieving that had taken hold of their school. All their belongings – from laptops to calculators – were missing from their lockers.
But one student had decided he’d had enough. He put together a plan that caught the thief, but it was someone he least expected.
A Student Solved The Mystery
Chicago Tribune
This story was shared on Reddit by the user u/Dunnachius, to whom we shall refer as Jake from now on. Jake was in 10th grade when this crime wave took place.
And he was a collaborator in the plot that would bring the thief to the public eye and make him face the consequences of his actions.
It Seemed Like No Big Deal
CBS
At first, it seemed like just a few anecdotic incidents with no relation between them. Every now and then, something disappeared from one of the students’ lockers.
The official theory, and the one endorsed by the principal, was that this was the students’ fault. How? Well, this is the explanation that was given:
Principal’s Theory
ThoughtCo
The principal claimed that it was all due to the students sharing the lockers’ combinations with one another or having combinations that were too simple or easy to guess.
So when the theft spree started happening, it was all put on the students, that is, the victims themselves! And that wasn’t all. What the school did about it was even more outrageous.
What Was It?
Codelocks
Every student that had their locker stolen was charged $150 to change the combination, as the school needed to hire a locksmith to change the lock.
So the students lost not only what had been stolen from their lockers, but also $150 that they had to pay to the school! It was a disgrace. But the worst thing was that the thefts didn’t stop.
It Kept Going
The Columbian
As time went on, more and more students kept having stuff stolen from their lockers. It didn’t matter how many times they changed the lock or how intricate their combination was; nothing seemed to stop the mysterious thief.
Even Jake had something extremely valuable stolen from his locker: a graphic calculator worth a few hundred dollars. And when it happened, he decided that enough was enough.
Detective Steps In
Daily Commercial
His uncle had a friend who worked as a detective for the county. He talked to him about what was going on at his school and, after giving it a think, the detective agreed to investigate it.
So one day, the detective went to the school, asked to see the principal, and made him an offer.
Detective’s Suggestion
Public Domain
He suggested setting up cameras in the hall, next to the lockers, so the thief could be discovered. But the principal opposed the idea: the detective would need a warrant to do that, and it would take months to get one.
However, the detective had another trick up his sleeve. So one day, he went to visit Jake and suggested that he be a part of his plan.
Bait
Expert Reviews
He gave Jake a brand new laptop and asked him to put it in his locker. He didn’t explain what he was scheming, but he asked something else of him: he should tell everyone he knew about his new laptop.
Although he was a bit confused, Jake agreed. And a few days later, his laptop was gone. He told the detective about it. “Stand by for the show, oh, and you reported the theft to the police, FYI,” he replied. Everything was going according to his plan.
It Had A Tracker
Kennebec Journal
It was later revealed that the detective had placed a GPS tracker inside the laptop; unknowingly, the thief had guided him to his own house.
And when it was made public who had been stealing from the students’ lockers, no one could believe that it had been him all along. It was someone who they would never expect to do anything like that.
It Was A Teacher
The Independent
It was the History teacher! It’s common knowledge that America’s school teachers are paid less than they should. But still, it was surprising to everyone to see one of the most reputed members of the school staff do something like that.
The truth had come out, and it was time for consequences to happen. And as it will be seen later, this included more people than just the History teacher.
Investigation
iStock
Numerous objects that were the property of the school students were found in the History teacher’s house, ranging from pieces of electronic equipment to money or jewelry.
When the police racked up the total of what had been stolen to build a case against the teacher, the result was absolutely astonishing.
Charges
Vox
The misleadingly mild-mannered and affable teacher was facing 9 felonies and 35 misdemeanor charges; the value of what had been stolen was about $12,000 for the felonies and $3,000 for the misdemeanors.
But that wasn’t all. More people were involved in this incident, and they would have to face the consequences too.
