Hanover Locker Room Allegedly Ransacked During Game In East Chicago Friday
Late Friday night RNS was contacted by multiple parents after an alleged ransacking of a locker room after a high school sectional football game in East Chicago.
A parent of a player originally contacted Lake County Dispatch and advised them that the locker room for Hanover Central they were utilizing at EC Central for the football game was ransacked and some electronics were stolen. Some of the items stolen included phones, earbuds, shoes, and pants.
An East Chicago Police Supervisor advised dispatch to have the parent or coaching staff come to the station to file a report so they can investigate the complaint since the game was already over and nobody was at the school any longer when it was reported. The parent then advised dispatch that she was scared to come to East Chicago. She stated to dispatch that she would call the media instead.
The East Chicago school administration was made aware of the situation at some point and was able to identify the juvenile suspect using cameras. The EC Central Principal and two other admin went to the juveniles home to retrieve the stolen items, police said. Allegedly the admin staff knocked on the door at which time the door pushed up open from the knocking.
The mother of the EC Central student that allegedly stole the electronics told police she encountered them inside her kitchen unaware anyone was in her home around 11 PM while she was sleeping. The mother says two adult males were in her kitchen and another male was in her son’s room yelling upstairs. The mother continued to ask what was going on, but no explanation was given, she said. The mother is not excusing her son’s behavior but added the staff could have called her and not barged in, she told RNS. The mother told RNS, “What part of this is right, there is no reason at 11 PM school officials should be handling this after business hours.” Initially the mother thought it was a home invasion and was scared for her life. The mother filed a police report Monday against the EC Central Principal and 2 other administrators for illegally entering her home without consent and taking all the allegedly stolen items. East Chicago Police Criminal Investigation Division is currently handling that aspect of the case.
Police have yet to receive a criminal report from anybody from Hanover Central regarding any stolen items. East Chicago Police added that they had nothing to do with the recovery of the alleged stolen items. EC School Administrators acted on their own and did not contact authorities, police stated.
