'Tis the season to be burgled, even if you're V.I. Delegate to Congress Donna Christian Christensen.
Some $25,000 worth of computer equipment was stolen from the delegate's St. Thomas office Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Shawn Malone, an aide to the delegate, said staff discovered the burglary when the Vitraco Mall office opened at 8:05 a.m. Thursday.
"We got cleaned out," he said. The robber or robbers took "all our new computers" – three of them, including monitors and keyboards. "The mouse pads are still there."
FBI agents and police forensics officers were on the scene early Thursday afternoon.
Malone said access probably was gained either through a back door or through an adjoining, unoccupied office, with the burglar or burglars making their way through the false ceiling. Some items were taken from the adjoining office too.
Christensen called the theft "disheartening," and was headed from St. Croix to St. Thomas Thursday afternoon.
Malone said the computers contained office files, but the staff does have backup tapes of the information.
He noted that the delegate already was planning on moving the office to Nisky Center, which should happen in January.
Since the crime was perpetrated in a federal office, it is being investigated as a federal crime, Malone said. He added that it is also a federal crime to purchase or be in possession of stolen federal property.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI at 777-3363 or the Safe Streets Task Force at 776-9440.