Woman arrested for stealing from preschool

A Bloomington woman was arrested by city police Monday for breaking into a preschool on South Park Avenue and stealing clothes, food and electronics.

When police arrived at Head Start preschool at 1790 S. Park Ave. the front door was wide open, said Bloomington Police Department Lt. Steve Kellams.

Witnesses reported a man and woman were inside the building and had fled to a home in the same block.

Police obtained a search warrant for Oleva Kendall’s home at 1753 S. Park Ave., according to court documents.

City police officers found close to $2,000 worth of stolen items inside Kendall’s home, with some of the stolen items stacked on the porch, Kellams said.

Devices for consuming controlled substances were found inside the home in plain sight as well, according to court documents.

Kendall, 21, admitted to police she broke into the preschool through an unlocked window with a friend and took food, diapers and other items from the building.

She also told police she knew there were controlled substances inside her apartment but said the items did not belong to her.

As of Wednesday, police had not found Kendall’s accomplice in the burglary, Kellams said. All the stolen items have been returned to Head Start.

Kendall faces preliminary charges of burglary, a class C felony; theft, a class D felony; and maintaining a common nuisance, a class D felony, with bond set at $10,000 surety and $500 cash.

She is unable to bond out because of a prior pending case in which she faces theft charges for attempting to steal nearly $300 worth of merchandise from Wal-Mart in January.

Court records show Kendall was placed on probation on January 30 and violated the court order to report to officials daily as part of her probation.

Kendall’s initial hearing was scheduled for Thursday in the Second Circuit Court.

Dennis Barbosa