Arrest made in cell phone theft at LH
An 18-year-old Uniontown man has been charged in connection with the theft of hundreds of cell phones from a Laurel Highlands High School classroom earlier this month. State police charged Michael Lamont Smith of Uniontown, a former high school student, with burglary, theft, receiving stolen property and criminal mischief for the incident, which occurred sometime March 7 or 8.
Terry Ainsley, social studies and business teacher at the high school, and students were collecting old, deactivated cell phones for the Cell Phones for Soldiers program, an initiative where unused phones are sent to a recycling center and the proceeds from the recycling are used to purchase calling cards for troops in Iraq.
The morning of March 8, Ainsley walked into her classroom and noticed that a window was broken, a computer tower was missing and several boxes of cell phones were gone.
On March 21, a garbage can filled with the missing cell phones was placed on high school grounds along with a letter that attempted to explain why they were taken.
Since news of the theft became public, people from throughout the area and nation have responded to the effort. Verizon Wireless promised a monetary donation, while a man from Tennessee promised to send 500 cell phones to Laurel Highlands, and the Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Office donated 500 phones to the school’s collection drive.
Smith was arraigned before District Magisterial Judge Deberah Kula and was taken to the Fayette County Prison in lieu of $10,000 unsecured bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 7.
Police said the investigation into the incident continues, and anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Trooper John F. Marshall at 724-415-1201.