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Officials: Man snatches $27,000 worth of electronics from Louisville Catholic school

Billy Kobin
Courier Journal

A thief recently snatched dozens of iPads, Chromebooks and other electronics worth more than $27,000 from a Catholic school in Louisville's South End, according to officials.

Kathy DeLozier, the principal of St. Nicholas Academy, a Catholic K-8 school on New Cut Road, said the bandit was seen on surveillance video entering the courtyard of the school about midnight Monday.

DeLozier said school officials believe the thief found a door with a padlock that was somehow loose and put something in the door to hold it open before leaving.

About two hours later, around 2 a.m. Tuesday, the male suspect returned to the school with a shopping cart, DeLozier said.

He was able to snatch 26 iPads and 30 Chromebooks along with cameras, chargers, microphones, headphones and other electronic accessories from a school lab, DeLozier said. The stolen items are worth more than $27,000, she added.

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"He grabbed just about everything he could out of cabinets," she said. "The iPads were locked up in a cart. He found the keys for that cart but thankfully did not find keys to two other Chromebook carts."

The man also took an American flag and library rug from the school and even snatched Oreo cookies and Hershey's Kisses from a teacher's desk, DeLozier said.

Besides the man likely wanting to devour the sweet treats, she said he lined the shopping cart with the American flag and also used the rug to hold the stolen items in.

Outside the school, surveillance video from a business across the street showed the thief meeting an accomplice who was on a moped, DeLozier said.

The two tied the cart to the moped and sped away down Third Street Road, she added.

DeLozier said she has not heard of any suspects getting caught yet, but the Louisville Metro Police Department is investigating.

"It's very, very frustrating," the St. Nicholas Academy principal said. "It really negatively impacts our children."

Students need the iPads and Chromebooks for tests, DeLozier said.

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But support has poured in from the community.

The nearby Joseph E. Ratterman and Son Funeral Home dropped off a check at the school Friday morning, DeLozier said. Other schools have provided iPads.

"I've had people offering whatever they can, be it monetary support or whatever," she said, adding that "shares and shares and shares" of the school's situation on Facebook have been supportive.

DeLozier said some people also have recognized the red moped that was seen in the video.

"I feel confident at some point that he'll be caught," DeLozier said.

Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com or 502-582-7030. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.