A Blue Island man was arrested this week in connection with a Marcch burglary at the construction site of a new fieldhouse at Shepard High School in Palos Heights, police said.
Quirino Torres-Sanchez, 43, was taken into custody at his home Wednesday and charged with one felony count of theft, police said.
Torres-Sanchez was identified by Palos Heights police as the man who stole thousands of dollars worth of construction material on Saturday, March 7. Police said he stole bundled pipe and steel beams from a gated area at the high school.
Police said he also tried to gain access to locked storage containers at the construction site.
School officials notified police about the theft on Monday, March 9.
During the investigation, police reviewed exterior surveillance footage provided by the school. A vehicle, later identified by license plate reader technology as belonging to Torres-Sanchez, was observed entering school property on the afternoon of Saturday, March 7, and later leaving with construction materials.
Investigators said the vehicle was subsequently located at its registered address, in Blue Island, where officers could see construction materials consistent with those reported stolen.
Torres-Sanches at first denied involvement, police said. But detectives canvassed area metal recycling centers and found a facility where Torres-Sanchez, his truck and stolen materials were identified.
Facility staff positively identified Torres-Sanchez through a photo lineup, police said.
He was arrested and allegedly admitted his involvement in the crime.
Brown was processed and released pending his initial court appearance, scheduled for Thursday, April 23, at the Bridgeview Courthouse.
“Detectives did a really nice job with this one and spent a day going to countless metal scrap yards to finally locate the truck with the pipe,” said Deputy Police Chief John Parnitzke.