School burglary suspect had 'Scared Straight' educational video in his backpack

ZACH VINSON A 17-year-old was charged with burglary Wednesday evening after he was caught inside Limestone Learning Center with a backpack full of allegedly stolen goods.

Among the items found in the backpack, according to a report at the Gaffney Police Department was a "Scared Straight" educational video.

The incident began just after 11 p.m. Wednesday when police were dispatched to an activated alarm at Limestone Learning Center on Leadmine Street. Police said in a report they found a silver bicycle parked near the school and an unsecured rear door.

While waiting for a police K-9 unit to arrive so they could search the building's interior, police said they heard someone moving inside one of the rooms and waited around a corner until a person began walking toward them.

Police said they then confronted 17- year-old Zach Wayne Vinson, of South Johnson Street, who began running in the opposite direction.

Police said they chased Vinson down a hallway and he ultimately complied with commands to get on the floor.

Vinson allegedly had with him a backpack containing a Compaq laptop computer marked with a Cherokee County School District property sticker, a Dell-brand Pocket PC with a school district sticker, two cell phones, a Dell battery charger, a videotape from the school's surveillance camera system, and the "Scared Straight" video. The items have a combined value of $800.

Vinson's bond was pending as of Thursday afternoon.

This is the second time in 2008 that Limestone Learning Center has been burglarized, according to police reports.

Between April 3 and April 13, other burglaries occurred at Ewing Middle School, Limestone Learning Center and Mary Bramlett Elementary.