Teens ticketed for breaking into Port Washington High School by climbing on roof

Students caught on video said it was a spur of the moment decision
By 
KRISTYN HALBIG ZIEHM
Ozaukee Press staff

Students usually try to get away from school, but two Port Washington teenagers got in trouble Feb. 10 after police discovered they broke into Port Washington High School.

But these teens weren’t after test scores or there to change grades. They left the school with a can of beans that they later showed off to their friends at the turnabout dance on Feb. 1, according to Port Washington police.

Police Chief Kevin Hingiss said the boys, ages 17 and 16, got into the school by climbing on the roof, then accessing a loading dock inside the building.

In doing so, they turned off the heat and air exchange units for the cafeteria and auxiliary gym, he said. The boys took the can of beans and left the way they came, Hingiss said, then went to the turnabout dance.

The break-in was discovered on Feb. 10, after numerous complaints that the gym and cafeteria were cold and custodians discovered the heat and air exchange units had been turned off, Hingiss said.

“There was no reason for them to be turned off,” he said.

School officials then checked the security tapes they had and saw two students access the roof at about 10:30 p.m. wearing dark clothes, Hingiss said. Their faces were covered with a bandana or some kind of mask.

The tapes showed the boys inside the school, where they removed the bandana or mask, and where they went and what they did — including leaving with the can of beans, Hingiss said.

School officials were able to recognize one student, he said, and when questioned he identified the second.

The 17-year-old is a student at Port High while the 16-year-old attends a private school in Washington County, Hingiss said.

The youths had little explanation for what they did, he added.

“According to them, it was a spur of the moment decision,” Hingiss said. “With teenagers, that’s a distinct possibility.

“You do stupid things when you’re that age, and this was one of them.”

The boys were each ticketed for disorderly conduct, trespassing and theft, he said.

Although nothing serious occurred during the incident and the boys did not vandalize the school, Hingiss said, there was the potential for harm.

“Something could have happened while they were climbing on the roof and who knows how long they would have laid there then.” 

Feedback:

Click Here to Send a Letter to the Editor

Ozaukee Press

Wisconsin’s largest paid circulation community weekly newspaper. Serving Port Washington, Saukville, Grafton, Fredonia, Belgium, as well as Ozaukee County government. Locally owned and printed in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

125 E. Main St.
Port Washington, WI 53074
(262) 284-3494
 

CONNECT


User login