Man Held in School Burglaries

A San Clemente man was arrested Thursday after police caught him entering a local elementary school that had been burglarized three times in the last week and had lost $20,000 worth of electronic and office equipment, authorities said.

James B. Doran, 29, was arrested about 12:15 a.m. as he was breaking into a building at Concordia Elementary School, on Avenida del Presidente, investigators said. Police were alerted to the crime by school officials, who told them about the series of break-ins.

With the help of the Capistrano Unified School District and Concordia’s principal, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department sent a team of investigators, including a K-9 unit and a helicopter. Sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said the team stationed officers inside several buildings on the school grounds.

Doran was confronted by an officer as he climbed into a school building, and he was arrested after a short pursuit on foot. A search of his apartment led to the recovery of all the stolen school property, Amormino said. Doran, who was on probation for a previous criminal offense, was being held at the Orange County Jail facing charges of burglary, possession of stolen property and resisting arrest.