Suspect Charged In OKC School Burglary

A traffic stop helped crack a metro school burglary case wide open. One of the suspects has been charged for the burglary and theft of 50 laptops from Sovereign Community School in northeast Oklahoma City.  

Sovereign Community School leaders are thankful the case has been solved and they want the accused thieves to know how much the crimes have impacted their students and staff.  

“To do something like this in the middle of the year really makes it hard,” said Theron Wahkinney, Sovereign Community School. “We’ve already budgeted for the year, so we don’t have the funds to replace this kind of stuff.”

Thieves were caught on camera in January breaking into the Sovereign Community School located near Northeast 122nd and Kelley Avenue.  

“The suspects broke into the upper floor level, utilizing a ladder of some sort,” said Sgt. Dillon Quirk, Oklahoma City Police Department. “Several of the offices and classrooms were ransacked.”   

The suspects got away with at least 50 chromebooks and other valuables. 

“Unfortunately, along with school property we also lost a lot of personal property for some of our teachers and our administration,” said Wahkinney.

About a month later, the car used in the getaway was spotted by an officer. Police said 25-year-old Asterik Graessle was driving and matched the description of one of the school burglary suspects. Police searched the car and found several chromebooks with "Sovereign Community School" stickers on the bottom.

“Unfortunately, of the stuff retrieved, we only got six computers back,” said Wahkinney. “So, a lot of those are still missing.”

Graessle was arrested and has since been charged by Oklahoma County prosecutors for the crimes.

“This actually isn’t the first time this has happened,” said Wahkinney. “But it’s the first time someone has been caught. So, we appreciate that.” 

The other suspects involved in the school burglary have been arrested but not formally charged.