Laptop snatched as she was typing in South St. Paul

November 24, 11:14 AMSouth St. Paul ExaminerRob Shirk

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                          Notebook Computer

A notebook computer was literally swiped from underneath Kathy Fischbach's fingers on Mon., Nov. 13th at the South St. Paul Central Square Community Center.

The Community Center sits a stone's throw away from the South St. Paul High School . The building is operated with a "user agreement" between the City and  the South St. Paul Schools. It offers several conference rooms, a fitness center, an indoor pool, as well as many other spaces for many other activities.

According to Fischbach, there were roughly ten youths inside the building just before six in the evening on Mon. Nov. 13 using loud, foul, language. She had set up her computer on a table in the lobby. The bunch was ignoring the receptionist's request to leave the building, so she plugged in her headphones to try to drown out the racket while she worked.

The group of kids eventually departed, or so she thought. Two boys either remained or came back to a hallway and suddenly rushed the table, reached across the surface, snatched the laptop, and ran through the front doors as Fischbach was yelling, calling 911, and chasing them down an alley located to the west of the Center.

Among other things, Fischbach had this to say in a recent e-mail.

My entire LIFE was on that laptop and it was such a helpless feeling to watch it run out the door with some hood-rat PUNKS.

It was so brazen that the headphones were ripped off her ears.

Surveillance video did not record the actual theft but apparently did show the villains as they made their exit, holding the laptop in plain sight. There were also a number of witnesses who viewed the robbery. Again, from the same e-mail, she had further observations.

These kids should not be underestimated in what they are capable of doing, as they clearly have no regard for the rights of others. I am thankful that nobody was hurt this time, but there will most likely be a next time and that outcome may be much, much worse.

Allegedly some of the the thieves  are enrolled in the  South St. Paul Schools. What the consequences are as far as school discipline are unclear. The criminal investigation is on-going.

Chris Esser, Director of Parks and Recreation is working with police and school officials on what the response should be now and in the future. Superintendent Heminover was present and active that night, as well. Mr. Esser explained what one of the immediate consequenses will be.

The action we have taken at CSCC is to restrict access to Central Square to all seven juvenile suspects and associates that were involved with the group that evening.

The Center might want to look into desks or workstations that can protect your computer with locks. This, I think, would be the least expensive and have the highest security. A one or two seat workstation would be all they'd need, in my opinion.

Perhaps an enforced policy of having the person on duty have the directive to call the police if they or anyone in the building feels threatened by anyone else. Yelling, obscenities, and obscene gestures can not be tolerated and at the risk of offending the few who engage in this activity, it's a risk worth taking. Let them know you're calling the authorities and don't make the words too long. They are not the brightest bulbs on the tree. And then actually call the police. Empty threats won't work.

There is no on-site security in the building and a person may have to think about putting a dent in the budget to hire someone that has a little more muscle to throw people out rather than a receptionist or two at a Community Center. It has come to this: it appears that the City of South St. Paul may need to hire a "bouncer" for our Community Center. Wow!

Esser maintains strongly that while the Central Square Community Center has had sparodic incidents, the Center is still and always has been a safe place to visit.

CSCC remains a safe place to be and this one brazen incident should not be allowed to tarnish that reputation in our community.  I would hope that this message would be distributed as “virally” as the original.