Education Employee Arrested After Alleged Copper Theft at Boschulte Middle School

A Department of Education employee has been arrested and charged after surveillance footage allegedly captured him removing copper wire from air conditioning units at Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School without authorization.

According to court documents, police were first alerted to the matter in January when the school’s principal reported suspected theft on campus. A maintenance worker had discovered that a surveillance camera in a specific area had been destroyed. Despite the damage, available footage was reviewed and allegedly showed another maintenance worker, Benito Dawson II, entering the property on Saturday, January 3, and causing the destruction.

The principal contacted Dawson’s supervisor, who reportedly stated that Dawson had not been assigned to work at the school on that date.

The footage also allegedly shows Dawson removing copper lines from air conditioning units located in two separate school buildings. The principal informed his superiors within the Virgin Islands Department of Education after reviewing the footage.