iPad Theft at South Brunswick High School Linked to Mold Growth

South Brunswick, NJ - The man who police say stole five iPads from South Brunswick High School last month was in the building originally because he worked for a company hired to remove the high school's mold problem.

As Patch reported, Omar Chicas, 30, was arrested after South Brunswick PD tracked the missing iPads back to Jersey City and Union City, where police say Chicas was selling them. He is a Union City resident. Chicas worked for All Risk Incorporated, which was hired to do mold removal at the high school this past fall, superintendent Dr. Gary McCartney told Patch. The mold, discovered just before the start of the school year, had spread to at least five classrooms. Those rooms had to be shut down and closed off to students during the clean-up process.

All Risk Incorporated does environmental remediation and property restoration.

The iPads were kept in a closet and a teacher at the high school notified police after she realized one was missing. School officials conducted an inventory and then discovered an additional four iPads were missing. Tracking software the school district had placed on the devices led police to find them being sold in Jersey City and Union City. Detectives recovered one iPad, and Chicas was arrested. The thefts occurred over October and November, police said.

The mold growth was tracked to a malfunctioning air handler on the school's roof that controls the climate in eleven rooms, said McCartney at the time.

Prior stories:

Mold Outbreak at South Brunswick High School

Man Stole iPads from South Brunswick High, Police Say