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Another Teen Charged in Drake Elementary iPad Thefts, Held on $100k Bond

By  Emily Morris and Erin Meyer | September 5, 2013 8:06am | Updated on September 5, 2013 5:47pm

 Deion Dillard, 18, of the 2700 block of South Dearborn Street.
Deion Dillard, 18, of the 2700 block of South Dearborn Street.
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Chicago Police Department

CHICAGO — A Chicago teenage, the latest charged in the Drake Elementary iPad heist, claims that a locked cabinet storing electronics had already been broken into when he entered the school auditorium and took a few for himself, prosecutors said.

Deion Dillard, 18, is the 11th person — nine of whom are teens — charged in connection with the theft last week of more than 300 iPads, MacBooks and other devices meant for kids in the classroom. 

The 11 are accused of pilfering iPads and Macbooks from the Chicago Public Schools "welcoming school," which moved into the old Williams Elementary building at the beginning of the academic year. More than 300 iPads were taken, according to prosecutors.

They took the equipment sometime sometime between 8:45 p.m. Aug. 29 and 2:35 a.m. Aug. 30, according to police. Authorities have not said how the band of thieves entered the building.

Dillard, who lives near the school in the 2700 block of South Dearborn Street, turned himself in early Wednesday, according to cops.

Assistant State's Attorney Erin Antonietti said during a brief bond hearing for Dillard Thursday that he took four iPads from a cabinet in the school auditorium. He told police that the lock to the cabinet had already been broken.

Dillard, who has a pending case against him for possession of a replica firearm, was ordered held on $100,000 bond by a Cook County judge.

Some of the stolen iPads and Macbooks have been recovered, a CPS spokeswoman said earlier this week, though authorities have not said how many have been found and how many are still out on the street.

Dillard was charged with burglary, while the rest were charged with burglary or theft. Those charged included a 13-year-old boy, two 15-year-old girls, three 16-year-old boys, a 15-year-old boy, a 17-year-old boy, a 19-year-old man and a 25-year-old man.

Dillard is expected to appear in bond court on Thursday, while some of those charged earlier this week have already appeared in court.