A Kentucky man has been sentenced in Cole County to five years in prison for pleading guilty to charges in connection with breaking into Jefferson City's West Elementary School on Dix Road in August 2015
Christopher Stephenson, 21, of Louisville, Kentucky, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree burglary and one count of possession of burglar’s tools.
A second charge of possession of burglar’s tools was dismissed.
Jefferson City Police Department probable cause statements show officers were dispatched to the school in the early morning hours of Aug. 28 when an alarm went off.
Stephenson was one of three men seen running from the area when officers got on the scene, but they were eventually caught.
When questioned by authorities, all three admitted to being in the school.
The three had damaged some property at Memorial Park before stealing items and breaking into the school.
Items that had been stolen were recovered along with tools used to break into the properties; however, Stephenson said the three entered through an open bathroom window in the school.