$1,000,000 Bail for Santa Barbara School Thief
Clayton, 26
Santa Barbara County-
Kelly Hoover, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer, announced to the media that Andre Clayton, 26-year-old Riverside County gang member, had been the subject of intense inter-agency investigation pursuant to a series of school burglaries throughout Southern California occurring between November 2012 and February 2013.
On January 24th, Santa Barbara’s Vieja Valley School had been burglarized to the tune of more than $10,000 in computer equipment, and just two days later, nearby Laguna Blanca School suffered a similar loss in the amount of $15,000.
According to Hoover, “numerous search warrants” allowed SBSD Detectives to pursue various leads which revealed that Clayton, acting in concert with others who currently remain at large, specifically targeted Santa Barbara’s affluent schools in their burglary spree. The group was so brazen, according to Hoover, that a mere two days after the initial break-in at Laguna Blanca School, they returned to the same facility and stole three more high-end computer systems.
Undisclosed “evidence obtained during the investigation” brought Clayton to the attention of Detectives, and on February 13, 2013, a search warrant was served upon his car and revealed that he was in possession of a loaded handgun as well as specific indications that he was involved in the burglaries. A further search of his residence in Hemet brought additional evidence into the hands of investigators, and on May he was taken into custody with the help of the Hemet Police Department.
Clayton was charged with burglary, commission of a crime to benefit a street gang, carrying a concealed firearm within a vehicle, and carrying a loaded firearm as well as additional gang enhancements. He was summarily transported to Santa Barbara County Jail where he is currently held on $1,000,000 bail.
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
READ MORE:
Santa Barbara Independent: Police Nab Suspected School Burglar
KEYT Channel 3: School Computer Burglary Suspect Arrested
