Laptop, cell phone taken from Centennial

Someone broke into Centennial Middle School early Tuesday and stole equipment used to broadcast West Valley High School boys playoff basketball games over the Internet.

“It was the first vandalism we’ve had this year,” said Centennial Principal Tim Ames.

The thief punched a hole in Ames’ office window, which set off the school’s alarm at 4:30 a.m. “It was hard glass to break into,” he said. “It was double paned and thick. They just popped a hole in the lower part. They didn’t get into the office.”

For his trouble the thief got a cell phone that was canceled within hours and a laptop with a dying battery. The cell phone had been donated and the laptop was being borrowed from West Valley High School.

The cell phone had been taped to Ames’ office window for better reception and was hooked up to the laptop. When the high school had a game last week, an announcer called the cell phone to put a live play-by-play of the match up over the Internet. It was in Ames’ office because of the good reception available there.

“We had 100 people make use of it for the first game and we left it there for the next game,” Ames said.

The equipment has since been replaced and the school was able to broadcast this week’s State 3A Tournament games featuring West Valley.

Ames said he’s not sure what kind of information was on the borrowed laptop, but said it likely wasn’t confidential. “We usually don’t pack student information around on laptops,” he said.

Police confiscated evidence left behind, including the hammer the thief used to break the window. Anyone with information about the burglary is asked to call police at 242-TIPS.