Two Philadelphia high school students were arrested Monday for allegedly swiping dozens of computers from West Philadelphia High School last week.
Last Monday morning, between 1:30 and 2 a.m., a group of thieves stole $80,000 worth of school equipment including 58 laptops, two desktops and an LCD projector.
Philadelphia Police zeroed in on a West Philly High and a University City High student after receiving a tip that the stolen equipment was being sold on Craigslist, according to Philadelphia School District officials.
Undercover officers set up a meeting and then caught the two 17-year-olds allegedly trying to sell laptops.
They arrested the teens and recovered 29 laptops, according to the school district.
Each boy faces burglary, theft and receiving stolen property charges.
School officials say that each laptop was worth around $1,300. The thieves managed to cut through the locks on the carts where the laptops were held.
Surveillance video reportedly showed three people wearing masks and gloves running through the hallways during the theft, according to investigators.
It's unclear if police are still looking for a third suspect.
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The school has an alarm system in place, which apparently didn’t go off during the theft. Officials are doing a full review of the security system.
Police say that this wasn’t the first incident involving computer theft. Since 2009, several Philadelphia schools have been targeted with more than 300 computers stolen.
For many students, the latest theft couldn’t have come at a worse time. Many juniors at the school have to register and prepare for the SAT tests in March. Many also need to fill out online college applications.
“A lot of students don’t have the laptops or Internet usage at home, so they rely on the computers at school,” said Amira Burgess, a West Philadelphia High School student.
“Now they have nothing to work on and they lost all their work.”
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