A man accused of breaking into W.F. West High School and stealing approximately $1,600 in iPads from the school in August 2021 was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail on Monday.
The suspect, identified as Stewart Scott Berglund, 58, is accused of entering the school’s gym on Aug. 24, 2021, and stealing a bag containing a school laptop and several iPads from the W.F. West High School volleyball coach. A student reported their backpack, containing a cellphone, was stolen during volleyball practice that same day. Several other students also reported items were stolen that day, according to court documents.
Video surveillance footage reportedly shows a suspect who detectives later identified as Berglund “enter the gym, go back to a car, get a bag, and go back into the gym.” He reportedly left the gym again after four or five minutes, got into a car and left the school, according to court documents.
Bergland and an unnamed accomplice were reportedly arrested in Tillamook County, Oregon, on Aug. 25, 2021. At the time of the arrest, Bergland reportedly had “several iPads, computers and phones” in his possession.
A Chehalis School District employee identified the iPads as school property worth approximately $1,600, according to court documents.
Berglund was charged with one count each of second-degree burglary and second-degree theft in Lewis County Superior Court on Feb. 1, 2022. He was issued a summons notice for a March 1, 2022, preliminary hearing, which he was not present for, prompting the court to issue a $20,000 bench warrant.
Beglund was arrested on that warrant on Feb. 12, 2024.
Jail records indicate he was booked into the Lewis County Jail at 11:45 a.m. on Feb. 12 for that felony case and for an unrelated driving with a suspended license violation.
While defense attorney Rachael Tiller asked the court to release Berglund on unsecured bail Tuesday due to the age of the allegations and the fact that the summons notice was sent to an incorrect address, Judge J. Andrew Toynbee opted to set bail at $30,000 due to Berglund's criminal history.
“Mr. Berglund is a crime wave and there's no way to protect the public other than having high bail,” Toynbee said Tuesday.
The state had asked for $50,000 bail, citing Berglund's criminal history.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 15.
