Arrest made in school burglary A Wilmington...

Arrest made in

school burglary

A Wilmington man has been arrested in connection with a burglary

at Sowers Middle School.

Lonnie Smith, 48, has been charged with commercial burglary,

possession of burglary tools and violation of parole. A second

suspect remained at large Wednesday.

Officers responding to an alarm at 3:49 a.m. at the school saw two

people fleeing the scene, Huntington Beach Police Lt. Craig Junginger

said.

Smith was caught but the second person got away, Junginger said.

Police recovered a laptop computer, a flat screen monitor, a scale

and other items allegedly stolen from Smith, Junginger said.

Police determined that Smith and his accomplice used vice grips to

make a hole in a plexiglass window and gain access to the school.

There have been several calls in recent weeks reporting vandalism

at Sowers, mainly in the form of graffiti tagging, Junginger said.

“Sowers has been the victim of lots of vandalism lately, so it’s

nice to catch someone,” Junginger said.