Arrest Made After Stolen THHS Equipment Found on Craigslist

If good fences make good neighbors, Trabuco Hills High may want to build some better fences.

A Mission Viejo resident who lives "right behind" the school has been arrested on suspicion of three separate burglaries from the school's sheds between Jan. 21 and April 23, Orange County Sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said.

Paul Alan Clausen, 44, admitted to stealing sound equipment and track and field equipment worth about $22,000, Amormino said.

Investigators found the hot items on Craigslist, the spokesman said. They set up a meeting with the seller and had a serial number from one of the items.

When he knew he was found out, Clausen led investigators to the rest of the stolen goods.

"He stole it to resell it," said Amormino, who didn't know what drove the man to steal the equipment in the first place.

Clausen pled guilty to possession of a controlled substance in 1998. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 3 years probation. He was sentenced to another 180 days in jail during that probationary period in 2000.