A break-in was discovered earlier this week in drama teacher Nick Garcia’s office next to the Little Theater at the Los Medanos College Pittsburg campus with electronics being some of the main items stolen.
“The office glass door was shattered,” Senior Lab Coordinator for Art, Drama and Journalism Cesar Reyes said. Garcia believes the suspects used a crowbar to shatter the door as he found a trail of tools after seeing the shattered door.
Lieutenant Ryan Huddleston said the attack happened sometime between last Friday evening and Monday morning when Garcia discovered the broken door.
“They took all of our computers,” Garcia said. He added other electronics were taken as well as props for the upcoming play “Almost, Maine.”
Garcia believes the break-in occurred over the weekend due to the suspects going back and forth between his office and the drama shop to look for tools in an attempt to get past the glass office door.
“It looked like they had enough time to rummage and look around,” Garcia said. He added, “They opened up the shop, grabbed screwdrivers and tried to break in nicely.”
Garcia then said this is when he believes the suspects went and grabbed a crowbar to break the glass when the screwdrivers couldn’t get the door open. He said one was laying on the ground in front of his office Monday morning.
According to Huddleston, the case is still under investigation and a police report has not been completed on the situation. He, nor campus police gave a timeframe on when the report could be completed. He added, “There are no known suspects at this time.”
The items stolen from Garcia’s office included computers, hard drives, props and tools, according to Huddleston and Garcia. Garcia said some of the props stolen were part of the upcoming play, but it will still debut Nov. 9 like originally planned.
In the last 30 days alone, there have been six thefts and burglaries on the LMC Pittsburg campus including the break-in to the theater. “Property crimes across East Contra Costa County are on the rise, this would include LMC,” Huddleston said.
With the increase of crime at LMC, Huddleston and other staff members at the college urge others to take precautions such as locking office doors, not leaving valuables in plain sight and making sure they are locked and secured if leaving them unattended. However, Huddleston reassured that “Police Services continue to investigate all reports of theft on campus.”
“We will be more vigilant,” Garcia said, adding, “the whole thing just makes me sad because times are really tough for people and that’s why they feel they need to resort to stealing.”
