Man charged with burglarizing 16 school districts across

By Kelby Wingert

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    WAPELLO COUNTY, Iowa (KCCI) — An Arkansas man is behind bars following a multi-district investigation into burglaries at schools across Iowa and Missouri.

According to the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office, the Cardinal Community School District reported break-ins at its elementary, middle and high school buildings on Feb. 2. The break-ins caused “extensive property damage” and included the theft of more than $4,000 in cash.

With help from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Intelligence & Fusion Center, Investigators executed “advanced technical search warrants” for “key digital evidence” that aren’t typically used in standard property crimes, the WCSO says.

Investigators learned of similar school burglaries in Missouri and southwest Iowa and the WCSO led the coordination of multiple jurisdictions to investigate and identify a suspect.

The investigation pointed to 40-year-old Curtis Lee Barton, of Arkansas, who was on parole for previous convictions of burglarizing schools and businesses in Missouri in 2018.

It is unclear what the exact charges are against Barton. The WCSO says there is evidence that directly links Barton to the burglaries.

Barton was taken into custody in Arkansas on Tuesday. He is being held in the South Pulaski County Jail in Little Rock on a $100,000 cash-only bond, pending extradition.

In total, officials allege Barton burglarized 14 Missouri school districts and two Iowa school districts. Investigators are also looking into several burglaries involving small businesses to determine if Barton is responsible.

The WCSO says the investigation is still active and additional charges are expected.

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