LAKE CHARLES, La. — Three men and a teenager are charged with burglarizing and spray-painting inside a high school in Lake Charles.
The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office identified the suspects as Seth Bordelon, 18, Mamou, La., Thomas Berzas, 20, Elton La, Mitchell Hughes, 21, and a 17-year-old, both from Lake Charles.
The break-in happened at Barbe High School about 5 a.m. July 21, detectives determined on the school's surveillance footage, Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office spokesperson Kayla Vincent said in a news release.
They were able to identify the suspects after posting photos of the surveillance footage on social media, Vincent said.
The suspects got into the baseball concession stand and stole an iPhone, then went inside the school and spray painted several walls, investigators said. They came back on July 23 and wrote on several desks and destroyed a Promethean board. The school's total damage is $6,000, the sheriff's office said.
The 17-year-old was arrested July 29 and booked into the Calcasieu Parish Juvenile Detention Center. Bordelon was arrested, booked into the Calcasieu Correctional Center and released on a $10,000 bond July 30.
Judge Clayton Davis signed warrants July 31 for the arrest of Berzas for $13,000 and Hughes for $7,000.
Bordelon, Berzas and the 17-year-old are charged with burglary, two counts of criminal damage to property between $1,000 and $50,000, theft less than $1,000 and unauthorized entry into a place of business.
Investigators said Hughes was not responsible for the second incident at the school. He is charged with burglary, criminal damage to property between $1,000 and $50,000 and theft less than $1,000.
Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office detective John Coffman is the lead investigator in this case, Vincent said.
