Ocean Springs police arrested a 46-year-old man this month and charged him with breaking into Ocean Springs Upper Elementary and living in an attic for a weekend.
Jared Ian Sumrall was being held without bond this week in the Jackson County jail for commercial burglary. Police arrested Sumrall the week before the break-in for another local burglary, and he was out of jail on bond when he allegedly entered the elementary school, Ocean Springs Deputy Chief Steven Dye said.
The Ocean Springs School District said Sumrall broke in Nov. 9, a Saturday, and left by Monday morning. Police identified Sumrall from the school’s video surveillance and arrested him again Nov. 12 in Biloxi.
The Ocean Springs School District said Sumrall never crossed paths with students.
“They were not in any danger,” said Trey Brennan, the communications director for the district. “We are very confident in that.”
Sumrall is accused of jumping a fence and climbing through a exhaust vent on the school’s roof, Brennan said. He reached an attic that maintenance crews use to repair HVAC systems and stayed there for most of the weekend, according to the district.
Brennan said the school has since fixed the vent so it is “no longer a possible entry point.”
The break-in set off no security alarms because the suspect stayed in one building and never used entrance or exit doors, Brennan said. He apparently slept in the attic and briefly walked the halls. Police believe Sumrall stole an iPad, chips, gummies, kinetic sand and Lego toys from one teacher’s classroom, Dye said.
The teacher noticed the items were missing Monday morning and told the school’s administration, Brennan said. Someone also found a pair of jeans in one of the school’s sinks.
The discoveries forced students to shelter in place out of precaution at 10:18 a.m. Monday morning as police swept the campus, the district said in a letter to parents. Classes continued as normal but no one was allowed in the halls. The shelter-in-place lasted just over an hour.
Officers found clothes and a bible in the attic, Brennan said. The district said Sumrall was not on campus when police searched the buildings.
Sumrall is homeless and known to local police, Dye said. He said Sumrall had been arrested the week before and charged with burglary at Empowered Pathways, a behavior therapy service in Ocean Springs. Police could not immediately verify if Sumrall has previously been convicted of any crimes.
Brennan said the district had “zero evidence” that Sumrall was on campus before Nov. 9. The district is still investigating how the suspect reached the roof.
Some students were on campus for activities that weekend, but they stayed in a different building separated by a closed gate and locked doors, Brennan said. The elementary school campus has several connected buildings, and surveillance footage shows no evidence that the suspect tried reach them, according to the district.
The Ocean Springs School District Police Department and Ocean Springs Police Department are still investigating. Brennan said the district is doing a full inventory to make sure it is not missing anything else.
“Regardless of rumors being spread on social media, the individual had no access to students and staff,” Brennan said Friday. “At no point was he ever in any contact with students and staff. We were able to completely sweep the building and ensure that he was not on campus and was not a threat.”
Sumrall could face up to seven years in prison if convicted of the burglary.
