4 Schools Targeted In Late-Night Break Ins, Burglaries

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — One resident spotted flashlights inside a building where nobody should have been, leading police to a string of school break-ins that stretched into the following day.

Santa Rosa police say suspects cut copper wire at a local elementary school before surveillance cameras caught separate burglary attempts at a middle school, including one involving a crowbar.

A neighbor's report of flashlights inside the Steele Lane Elementary School led Santa Rosa police to three men inside the closed campus who police suspect of cutting copper wire.

Police arrested Kenneth Grushus, 42, Richard Smith, 43, and Angel Gonzalez Rodriguez, 27, on suspicion of burglary, conspiracy, grand theft of copper material, and felony vandalism, according to the Santa Rosa Police Department.

Officers also arrested Grushus on suspicion of resisting a peace officer.

The arrests began at about 1:47 a.m. Thursday when a neighbor flagged down an officer near Steele Lane Elementary School at 301 Steele Lane. The resident reported seeing flashlights inside the campus.

The officer, aware of another, recent copper wire theft at the school, checked the property and spotted flashlights inside the building. Additional officers responded and searched the campus.

Police arrested three men there, one after a chase.

Santa Rosa police said officers found tools and loose copper wire.

On Friday at about 7:56 a.m., Santa Rosa police responded to a burglary in progress at Comstock Middle School, 2750 W. Steele Lane. The school's surveillance system alerted authorities.

Officers arrived and spotted a suspect leaving on foot. They arrested Pedro Reyes-Medina, 22, of Santa Rosa, on suspicion of burglary and felony vandalism.

Police booked Reyes-Medina into the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility.

Hours later, at approximately 5:13 p.m., Comstock's surveillance system alerted police to another possible break-in.

Police found two teens they suspect of trying to pry open a door to the school with a crowbar.

Police found pry marks on a door but no evidence that anyone had entered the building.

Officers arrested both teens on suspicion of attempted burglary and conspiracy and took them to juvenile hall. Police withheld their identities because they are minors.