SMMUSD Worker Charged in $40K Equipment Heist

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Story has been updated. See editor’s note below.

A former Santa Monica-Malibu schools employee is accused of stealing about $40,000 worth of district technology equipment, according to district and law enforcement officials.

The suspect, Jorge Lopez-Paredes, was arrested on burglary charges and terminated by the district after security video showed the suspect taking valuable electronics from SMMUSD headquarters in the 1600 block of 16th Street, officials said.

Police detectives serving a search warrant at Lopez-Paredes’ residence in Los Angeles on April 29 found evidence as well as previously unreported stolen property that was later identified as belonging to the school district, Sgt. Rudy Camarena said.

Lopez-Paredes, 27, has been charged with grand theft by the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office, according to Camarena. A court hearing is pending.

The school district has cooperated with authorities on the investigation, which comes as new equipment is being installed across the district with funding from voter-backed bond measures to upgrade school facilities and classrooms.

“This is disappointing to all of us who work so hard to provide exemplary programs and services to our students on a limited budget,” district spokeswoman Gail Pinsker said. “We hold our employees to a high standard and expect everyone employed with SMMUSD to uphold terms of their employment and follow all laws and education code.”

The district withheld the former worker’s name and position, citing personnel privacy laws, but Santa Monica police identified the suspect. He did not have direct contact with students, Pinsker said.

The equipment was stolen from a “secure storage area,” according to a district report, and Pinsker said the district has a variety of security measures in place to prevent theft.

“In this case, these measures provided proof of this misconduct,” she said, adding that the district continually seeks more ways to protect valuable equipment.

Meanwhile, the Board of Education voted Wednesday to amend a district contract for wireless technology infrastructure to replace the stolen equipment. The district is paying to replace equipment because police did not recover much of the stolen property, Pinsker said.

The extra $40,734 allocated to Meridian IT and Promark Technology is part of a $3-million contract for technological improvements funded through Measure ES, which voters approved three years ago.

Through insurance, the district will be fully reimbursed for the new expense except for a $5,000 deductible, according to the district report. District staff ordered the equipment before board approval to expedite the installation of the new equipment.

A previous version of this story first appeared in the Santa Monica Daily Press.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story stated that it remains unclear why the district is paying to replace the equipment considering police were able to recover at least some of the stolen property. The story has been updated to include information provided by the district.