A 42-year-old man was arrested Thursday morning for allegedly committing a string of thefts, all caught on surveillance video, at schools in Irvine.
Antwoine Elvine was arrested about 9 a.m. at his home in San Bernardino, according to Kim Mohr of the Irvine Police Department.
Police received a report on Jan. 11 of a theft at the school attached to Irvine Baptist Church in the 5100 block of Walnut Avenue, Mohr said.
“The suspect was caught on video surveillance walking into an empty classroom around 3:40 p.m. and stealing a wallet from a teacher’s purse,” Mohr said.
Police released the video Friday in hopes of identifying the suspect and heard from Concordia University, where someone recognized the man, Mohr said.
University personnel reported that a theft had occurred on the campus shortly after the one at Irvine Baptist Church, she said.
“In this case, wallets were taken from backpacks and $500 cash was stolen from an office,” Mohr said. “Concordia also had video of the suspect, including footage of the suspect vehicle and license plate.”
The library and student store at University High School was also burglarized the same day, Mohr said, adding that the suspect stole items that included a safe with $518 inside.
“The Irvine Unified School District also had a video of the theft,” Mohr said.
–City News Service