LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Clark County School District police officer was arrested in connection to the theft of still cameras from West Career and Technical Academy.
The investigation began on Monday when the school, located near Charleston Boulevard and Desert Foothills Drive, notified the police department of missing or stolen items. On Wednesday, CCSD police detectives arrested 56-year-old Robert J. Griffin, a sergeant with the department.
Griffin was assigned to the operations division and has been employed by the CCSD police since September 2006. Griffin was transported and booked into the Clark County Detention Center on two counts of burglary.
Griffin's current employment status with CCSD is suspended without pay pending the resolution of the criminal charges.
In a letter to parents at West Career and Technical Academy, the principal stated that no students or staff was involved in this matter and the theft took place after hours when the campus was closed.
13 Investigates was able to gather more information about Griffin and just how he was able to get onto campus after hours.
The sergeant known by the nickname Griff among his CCSD Police Department colleagues was in charge of swing shift and had keys to West Tech and many other schools, so say sources familiar with the investigation and with Griffin's background.
After the academy reported missing photography and computer equipment, sources told 13 Action News Chief Investigator Darcy Spears that school police went through surveillance footage and saw Griffin on video going into the school Friday night.
He reportedly goes directly to the photography room, moves around with a flashlight, then goes across the hall to the computer lab before leaving the school.
Video also showed him coming back during the day on Saturday and leaving with items.
Griffin reportedly set up online accounts where he was selling school district property after removing the identifying CCSD security stickers.
Sources told Spears that investigators served a search warrant at Griffin's home and discovered evidence of payday loans along with gambling debt.
13 Investigates also discovered Griffin has a history of money troubles, including a 2010 bankruptcy.
Court records from that case showed $18,000 owed to the IRS and $91,000 in unsecured debt that included credit cards and student loans.
Records also showed Griffin failed to disclose overtime pay in his bankruptcy filing. According to Transparent Nevada, he made a little over $3,000 in overtime the year he filed but claimed $0.
Additionally, sources said Griffin has been under suspicion for two years since he was suspected of stealing property from Centennial High School, though he was not arrested or charged with that.
Before working at CCSD, Griffin was an officer with the Salinas Police Department in California.
