Quick Take:
A Santa Cruz resident arrested Thursday on suspicion of burglarizing the private Catholic school was wanted on seven outstanding warrants.
Santa Cruz authorities returned stolen property to Holy Cross School on Friday, days after a classroom was burglarized and ransacked.
And a suspect for the crime is in custody: Santa Cruz resident Robert Negron, 55, was arrested early Thursday when police came across a van linked to the burglary by surveillance footage.
Negron had seven outstanding warrants at the time of his arrest, according to the Santa Cruz Police Department. He was on pretrial release, the department said, and is believed to have cut off his ankle monitor at some point in April.
Holy Cross is a private Catholic school serving students in preschool through eighth grade. Its campus is on Emmett Street, adjacent to Holy Cross Catholic Church and just above downtown Santa Cruz.
Police suspect Negron of breaking into the school early Tuesday morning, stealing multiple items and ransacking the classroom.
The extent of the theft wasn’t immediately clear. A police department spokesperson was unable to provide details on items taken or their estimated value, and a representative of Holy Cross School was not immediately available for comment.
Negron was charged in March with multiple felonies, accused of making criminal threats, stalking and a harassing phone call, court records show. He is facing charges of possession of drug paraphernalia, stolen property and burglary tools in a separate case.
Jail records show Negron remained in custody Friday at Santa Cruz Main Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.