by Theodore Wiesehan

    Though the Seward County Sheriff's Office exhausted all of its leads, an anonymous tip led to renewed investigation and the recovery of several thousand dollars' worth of equipment stolen from Centennial School.
     The Jan. 4 tip from Seward County Crime Stoppers led to the arrest of two local juvenile males and one 18 year-old male, all current Centennial students. The trio are accused of burglary, theft and criminal mischief stemming from a Sept. 24, 2005, break-in at Centennial School in Utica.
     The males told investigators that they broke into the school and stole computers and computer-related equipment. They also admitted to spraying fire extinguishers inside the school and breaking out interior windows. Damage to the school and losses from stolen property totalled $15,000.
     While executing a search warrant at the residence of one of the men, deputies recovered computers, digital cameras, a scanner, an LCD projector, several computer hard drives and an assortment of other computer-related equipment.
     Centennial School superintendent Dr. Brian Maher had given up hope of recovering the equipment and was grateful to sheriff's office for their work on the case.
     "The Seward County Sheriff's Office has done a really nice job in communicating with us about the suspects and getting back most of the equipment," Centennial School superintendent Dr. Brian Maher said.
     As a result of the Sept. 24 break-in and previous instances of theft and vandalism, Centennial School installed a high-tech video surveillance system over the holiday break.
     A reward has been offered, however the tipster needs to call Seward County Crime-Stoppers back to receive the reward. Their identity will still remain anonymous.