An attempted midnight burglary of Smoke Plus in a shopping plaza on the north side of Highway 372 was thwarted by an alert deputy sheriff Monday.

Investigation of another midnight burglary at Rosemary Clarke Middle School last week resulted in two homeless juveniles taken into custody.

Bryan Charles McMillan, 43, was arrested and held on $7,000 bail, allegedly caught in the act of breaking into Smoke Plus through the business' front door.

Deputy Joseph Casey made the arrest when he observed a suspicious vehicle parked in front of the store as he drove by. He also noticed a white male crouched at the front door.

Smoke Plus has endured several burglaries, according to the Sheriff's Office press release. Casey therefore was on guard and turned around to investigate.

When he approached the business he noticed the tailgate to the suspect's vehicle was down, and the man was putting something in the back. He also noticed that the door to the business had been pried open and the burglar alarm was sounding through the night. Plaster and the damaged lock assembly lay on the ground around the doorway.

A pry bar with fresh plaster on it, the color of which matched the door frame, was found in the suspect's vehicle.

Finding probable cause, Casey asked the suspect what was going on. He replied that he had just chased the burglars away before the officer's arrival.

Large red bolt cutters were also found in the suspect's vehicle in plain view, according to the release. The bolt cutters didn't have their rubber grips, which the officer found near the door.

The vehicle was seized for evidence and impounded. Casey was not deterred by the suspect's good samaritan story, and McMillan was charged with burglary and possession of burglary tools.

Last Wednesday two juveniles, aged 15 and 16, were arrested and turned over to juvenile probation officers on charges of burglary, vandalism and general mayhem committed at Rosemary Clarke Middle School on North Blagg Road.

Investigation revealed that the suspects had allegedly broken into the teachers' lounge by throwing rocks at windows. They raided the refrigerators, taking soda, Popsicles, "hot pockets," and a teacher's lunch bag.

According to the Sheriff's Office press release, they climbed on the building's roof and removed a video camera used to monitor the weather. They then entered a storage area and removed a fire extinguisher, which they used sporadically, according to the release. A maintenance vehicle had tools taken from it, and its windows were smashed as well.

An employee at a nearby convenience store advised officers that, around midnight, three male, homeless juveniles were in the store and had then headed in the direction of the school. That put Deputies J. Erickson and T. Healing hot on the suspects' trail.

Information gathered from the convenience store employee pointed the deputies to the address of a vacant house on Leonard Street, south of Simkins Road in northern Pahrump, where the homeless youths were said to be staying.

Upon arrival at the abandoned residence, deputies looked in the windows and saw three white males sleeping on the floor. They were awakened and ordered outside.

Interrogated individually, the juveniles gave somewhat different versions of their sporting activities at the school, which began with a late-night game of basketball, according to one, and progressed to climbing onto the roof and removing the video camera.

One of the suspects said he had attempted to "hot wire" the maintenance vehicle so they could "do brodies" in the parking lot. According to the press release, "Not making any progress with the 'hot wire,' all three decided to break out the windows of the vehicle."

The contents of the refrigerator in the teachers' lounge were found in the refrigerator at the vacant house. Also found there were objects allegedly taken from the school maintenance vehicle.

The suspects' shoes were located in the house and their individual owners identified. Deputies noticed that the shoes' tread patterns appeared to match footprints left at the crime scene.

One of the suspects was advised by the officers to leave the scene, and the other two were taken into custody. One of the other juveniles had a large laceration on his arm, allegedly from the broken glass on the windows of the teachers' lounge, and was provided medical attention by Pahrump Fire-Rescue.