S.O. investigates burglary at St. Bernard school and theft of $15,000 in goods donated for Hurricane Isaac victims in Plaquemines; Anyone with info. should call 504-271-2501 or Crimestopprs at (504) 822-1111

Suzanne Shaffer looks over donated clothes at Lynn Oaks School, where she discovered a burglary of $15,000 of goods on Sunday.

St. Bernard Sheriff’s Cpl. Shane Lulei and Suzanne Shaffer, who heads the effort by the Team Braithwaite Foundation to collect and distribute donated goods for victims of Hurricane Isaac flooding, discusses a burglary and theft of $15,000 in goods discovered on Sunday. Behind them are other donated items not stolen.

St. Bernard Parish sheriff’s detectives are investigating the weekend burglary at a private school in which some $15,000 of goods donated to help victims of Hurricane Isaac flooding on the East Bank of Plaquemines Parish was stolen, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Anyone with info. should call 504-271-2501 or Crimestopprs at (504) 822-1111.

The burglary at Lynn Oaks School near the Plaquemines Parish line was discovered Sunday about 1:30 p.m. by Suzanne Shaffer, who is heading up efforts by the Team Braithwaite Foundation which has been collecting and distributing items to victims.

Stolen goods including miscellaneous baby items, including numerous diapers, food and cleaning items.

Detectives processed the scene in an effort to find finger prints and other evidence. There are no known suspects at this time, the sheriff said.

“How low-class can people get,’’ Sheriff Pohlmann said of the burglary. “You have to have no shame to do this. This effort to collect donations for victims of Isaac has been going on since the storm,’’ where some East Plaquemines residents lost everything in 10-13 feet of flood water, Sheriff Pohlmann said. “This was obviously aimed at stealing what had been donated.

“We are investigating and whoever did this deserves the maximum sentence when they are found,’’ Sheriff Pohlmann said.

Shaffer, who lives in East Plaquemines said her son, Jesse Shaffer, began the effort to collect items for victims – using the Internet – and it took off. Church groups and many others have gotten involved.

She said the burglary is devastating.

“It’s sickening,’’ Shaffer said as she stood among collected items that weren’t stolen, saying she discovered the break-in when she went to Lynn Oaks on Sunday to deliver more donated items collected at a rally Saturday night.

The thieves took nearly everything for infants, as well as almost all cleaning supplies, she said.

“It’s really sickening to me they took all the things collected to help firefighters in Plaquemines Parish’’ whose homes were destroyed, Shaffer said.

She also said it had to be someone who has been to the school or heard of the effort to collect donations. But Shaffer said she didn’t know of specific suspects.