Photos by Jack Clark
When Michael Schnalzer opened the American Legion Post 800 at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, he found a tripped alarm and much destruction. A burglar or burglars had broken into and ransacked the Legion’s offices.
A file cabinet had been pried open, its contents strewn around the office, and the office safe was missing. According to Danny Richardson, Legion commander, the safe contained about $1,200-$1,500 in cash and valuables at the time.
Other damage included the destruction of three locked wooden boxes, and at least two doors appeared to have been jimmied with a 2-inch wide tool.
The alarm had been tripped at 3:07 a.m., but the sound had not alerted anyone.
According to Schnalzer, the person who dialed 911 and spoke to Riverside County Sheriff’s Department personnel, they indicated that because the break-in had taken place so many hours previously, it was too late for them to respond or do anything but take a report.
At the time of this writing, security camera recordings had not yet been analyzed.
