CHS grad breaks in to alma mater

A county resident was caught in the act of burglarizing his alma mater early Sunday and his partner in crime is still on the loose, according to Cottondale Police Chief William Watford.
A former student of Cottondale High School, 21-year-old Andrew Pepples is accused of multiple infractions in a weekend break-in at the school.
Pepples is charged with burglary, trespassing on school property and theft.
The arrest came as the result of a Cottondale Police Department sting operation.
Watford and his officers had set up special all-shifts checks inside the school after a Nov. 2 burglary there, Watford explained Monday.
At around 12:40 a.m. Sunday, that strategy paid off when an officer checking inside the buildings encountered two men leaving a classroom, their faces disguised with articles of clothing. One escaped, but the officer collared Pepples, Watford said.
Canines from Apalachee and Jackson correctional institutions were deployed to trail the second man, and briefly caught, but then lost a scent.
“We have a general idea of who the other one might be, but if the public give us any additional information it would be helpful,” Watford said.
He asks anyone with information to call his office at 352-4361, or CrimeStoppers at 526-5000.
On Monday, the police chief provided the media with still shots from videotape capturing the incident. Watford hopes these will assist the public in helping identify the second man.
Watford said the thieves used an unknown object to enter roughly half a dozen individual classrooms, which were locked.
Watford also figured out how the men were able to get inside the school itself, but didn’t disclose the method. He said the school was working to correct the situation that allowed the burglars access.
Watford suspects the Nov. 2 and Nov. 8 burglaries are related, and likely were committed by the same individuals.
The school was also burglarized once back in September, but Watford was uncertain if it was related to the more recent break-ins.
Minor amounts of currency, and some objects of slight monetary value which were small enough to fit in a pocket were taken in the November burglaries, Watford said. Candy, for instance, was part of the haul.