Three young suspects were arrested for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars worth of items from Whittier High School and causing significant damage to the property.
The suspects were identified as Jayden Martin, 19, and Alexiah Valles, 18, and a juvenile whose name was not released, according to the Whittier Police Department.
On July 20, the suspects entered a campus building through a window around midnight. They ransacked the property, stealing around $12,000 worth of items from multiple classrooms, including chemistry equipment, a replica skeleton, a live snake, a live fish and more.
They fled the school with the stolen items and animals and left behind around $10,000 worth of damage, police said.
On July 21, with the help of the school’s resource officer, the unidentified juvenile was named one of the burglary suspects.
A search warrant was conducted at the juvenile’s home, where all the stolen property, including the snake and fish, was recovered. The minor was arrested for felony vandalism and burglary.
On Aug. 11, the other two suspects were identified in the case and later taken into custody. They were booked at the Whittier Police Department Jail for vandalism and burglary.
“All recovered property was returned to its rightful owner,” police said.
