On the night of March 12th, three individuals armed with pry bars and hammers broke into Glendale’s Toll Middle School and left a trail of destruction in their wake. Clothed in hooded-sweaters and wearing bandanas to conceal their identities, they smashed security cameras, forced their way into approximately 20 classrooms and offices, and stole cash.
View the surveillance footage below:
They later committed similar acts that same night at the Mark Keppel Elementary School between 4:10 a.m. – 4:32 a.m., breaking into four classrooms and taking cash.
Yesterday the Glendale Police Department identified all three suspects and arrested two of them. The third voluntarily turned himself in.
The surveillance footage played a vital role in helping Glendale Police Department Detectives solve the crime. Widespread media coverage resulted in a tip on one of the suspects, and crime analysts utilized that new information to pinpoint his identity on social media. Detectives were then able to positively identify his two accomplices. A photo posted by one of the suspects depicts him wearing a unique hat that matched to the one he is seen wearing in the surveillance footage at the crime scene.
They’re also responsible for committing similar crimes the following week to two other Glendale Unified schools.
The adult suspect, identified as 19 year old Christian Padilla from Pasadena, remains in custody.