Sophomore Angela Gu gets her backpack stolen by CHS students during the MVHS vs CHS badminton team on April 9. Suspects in custody.
At first, it seemed to be an ordinary after school badminton game. But when MVHS coach Charlie Situ observed a trio of suspicious teenagers walking out of the gym with a backpack, he suspected robbery. Situ was then informed by a team member, sophomore Angela Gu, that her backpack was missing.
Realizing that the teenagers had stolen Gu’s backpack, Situ immediately ran out of the gym in pursuit of them. When Situ started to pursue the suspects, other members of team—though unaware of the reason why Situ was running—ran with Situ. According to sophomore Andy Syang, a majority of the MVHS badminton team was standing behind, watching as the action unfolded. After Situ and the suspectswere out of sight, the players continued with their game against CHS.
Situ eventually detained the suspects who were identified as a Caucasian CHS student with two additional accomplices. The CHS assistant principal was called and police were notified of the incident.
“I don’t think it really hit me that my backpack was gone,” Gu said. “At that time, I was a little bit in shock.”
With the suspects in Situ’s custody, Gu was able to recover her stolen backpack when one of the perpetrators revealed it to be under a bush near his home. However, items still missing from Gu’s backpack include a red Nikon camera and several hundred dollars in cash raised by selling Ozark lollipops in a recent FBLA fundraiser. The suspect stated that he himself did not take her personal belongings. Instead, one of his accomplices must have done so without him knowing.
With the intention of retrieving the stolen money and camera, the suspect led Situ and Gu to a nearby park to look for his accomplice, who was not carrying a cell phone. However, the search resulted in failure. A search of the suspect’s home by police did not yield further results.
“At MVHS, where we live, we live in a really good community you’re not always thinking that something bad is going to happen,” Gu said. “You’re not as cautious about things.”
As of now, no legal actions have been taken against the three CHS students. However, according to Gu, they are due to appear in court sometime in May or June. The exact date is as of yet unknown.
“I’m really honored and glad to live in a safe community, but then we also have to realize that in reality there are a lot of bad guys out there,” Gu said. “It has definitely taught me to be on guard and to keep my stuff in sight at all times.”
