Wednesday — February 11, 2004

Two charged
in burglary at
Carey School

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By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer

Two local men were arrested last week on felony burglary charges for their alleged involvement in a robbery at the Carey School during the nighttime hours of Jan. 31 or the early hours of Feb. 1. One of the men graduated from the school last spring.

"We have made two arrests in the case, but it’s still an active, open case we’re investigating," said Blaine County Chief Deputy Sheriff Gene Ramsey.

Blaine County Sheriff Walt Femling said he has asked the Blaine County prosecutor’s office for arrest warrants for two more men, but the warrants had not yet been issued as of Tuesday morning, Feb. 10.

On Tuesday, Feb. 3, sheriff’s deputies arrested Harrison J. Gamino, 20, of Hailey and Robert J. Garcia, 19, of Bellevue. In addition to burglary, Garcia was charged with a probation violation.

Gamino graduated from the Carey School as a member of the class of 2003. He attended school there his entire educational career.

"He was an okay student," said Carey School Principal John Peck. "We didn’t have problems with him."

Almost all of the goods and money that were stolen from the Carey School have been recovered, Ramsey said.

Approximately $10,000 in cash and electronic equipment was stolen after burglars broke through the window of a first-grade classroom and crawled through the building’s ceilings to access the school’s hallways and main office area.

During the course of a traffic stop in Hailey on Tuesday, Blaine County Sheriff’s Office deputies discovered that the car contained some of the stolen property. By Tuesday afternoon, Garcia, the car’s passenger, had been arrested. Upon searching the hotel room where Garcia had been staying, police discovered more stolen property. Gamino was there and was placed under arrest about 3:45 p.m.

The suspects arrested on Tuesday had previously been identified as "persons of interest," Ramsey said.

Authorities said they knew to watch Gamino and Garcia because of a tip they received.

"Our investigation was leading that way. We were checking leads," Ramsey said.

Also, while searching the car, evidence of another burglary surfaced, Ramsey said. The car contained medical bags and a mask from the Carey Quick Response Unit ambulance. The car contained a laptop computer, computer projector, one digital camera and several pairs of sneakers that were all reported stolen from the Carey School, Ramsey said.

In all, about $2,500 in cash was stolen from the school’s main office area, where it was kept in a locked cabinet, Peck said. A Dell laptop computer with an estimated value of $1,500 and two digital cameras—a four-year-old Sony and a Cannon estimated at $350—were stolen from Peck’s office.

A $4,500 computer projector was also stolen, and three soda machines were destroyed to access the dollar bills that might have been tucked inside.

But the perpetrators didn’t stop there.

Peck said nine pairs of "old stinky" gym shoes ranging between size 9.5 and 11 and three or four pairs of "old dirty" gym shorts were stolen from a junior high locker room.

Peck said he discovered the crime scene on Sunday, Feb. 1 at about 7:45 a.m. when he was going to the office to do a little work. The crime is believed to have occurred between 10 p.m. Saturday night and 7:45 a.m. Sunday morning.

Police investigating the crime discovered several sets of fingerprints on tools that were used to tear out parts of the ceiling and to beat open soda machines, Ramsey said. In one corner of the main office, where part of a sheetrock ceiling had been pried away with a hammer, the hammer was left stuck in the drywall.

Multiple sets of fingerprints and other evidence were sent to the Idaho State Police Crime Lab for analysis, Ramsey said.

The suspects appear to have accessed different parts of the school by climbing into ceilings and over the tops of walls. In most cases that involved moving ceiling tiles in the school’s drop ceiling, but, in one case, a drywall ceiling was destroyed. The procedure also appeared to have been a little dangerous.

"There was a large hole in the ceiling where it looks like one of the suspects fell through," Ramsey said.

A drill, hammer and pry bar used on the soda machines were left in the school’s hallway. The tools belonged to the school and were kept in a hallway closet.

Peck said that after accessing the office area, the suspects appear to have walked out one of the school’s doorways, which could have been unlocked from the inside. The school does not have a security alarm or surveillance cameras, he said.

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