Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE - A Dacula resident is being held without bond in the Gwinnett County jail on charges connected to several break-ins of the school system's portable classrooms.

Gwinnett County school police on June 6 arrested Robert Franz Joseph II on 45 felony counts of theft by receiving stolen property, said Sloan Roach, the school district's spokeswoman. Joseph was charged earlier this week with three felony counts of burglary, she said.

Roach said Joseph is not currently a Gwinnett County Public Schools student.

The burglary charges stem from break-ins at trailers at Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, Creekland Middle School in Lawrenceville and Lanier Middle School in Buford, Roach said. Portables at other schools, mainly middle and high schools, were also burglarized during the winter and spring, she said.

The school system was able to recover a portion of equipment stolen from the trailers, mostly projectors installed in the portables, Roach said. Each projector is valued at about $1,000.

The arrest is the result of "an ongoing, very intense investigation," Roach said.

Because the investigation is still active, Roach said she could not say what led to Joseph's arrest. She said more charges could be filed and more arrests could be made.

"It really is a good news story for the school system in that we are able to make some arrests based on the investigation," she said.