Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

37° Evanston, IL
Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Middle school janitor gets 3 years in prison

Updated March 24, 3:40 p.m.About a year after his arrest, a former middle school janitor has been sentenced to three years in prison for theft, gun and drug violations.

Rengay Frazier, 1904 Emerson St., pleaded guilty to possessing a gun and cannabis and five counts of possession of stolen property. A circuit court judge sentenced the 37-year-old to three years for each of the seven charges, but ordered them to be served concurrently.

“He was going to go to prison; it was just a matter of how long,” said state’s attorney Rick Cenar, who prosecuted the case. “It was a situation where all the parties came together–judge, court, police, state’s attorney–and we thought this was the best.”

Police arrested Frazier, on vacation from his job as a janitor at Haven Middle School, 2417 Praire Ave., on Feb. 15, 2008 when they discovered more than $100,000 of allegedly stolen property in his basement. The loot, billed as the largest seizure in the history of the Evanston Police Department, included computers, flat-screen TVs, iPods, digital cameras, jewelry, watches, game systems, drugs, five handguns, three shotguns and $52,000 cash.

“I was like, ‘Wow,'” said EPD Cmdr. James Elliot in the press conference announcing the arrest. “Seriously, it’s a tremendous amount of property.”

An Evanston/Skokie School District 65 internal investigation found that none of the items were taken on school property, said Pat Markham, the district’s communication director, told The Daily in October.

While criminal records indicate that Frazier had a felony record when hired, the district has not changed its hiring practices, Markham said.

Frazier could be out of prison in 18 months with good behavior, Cenar said.

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Middle school janitor gets 3 years in prison