A student hid in a locker with a video camera to catch the thief who had been robbing student lockers. She says the video shows it was a teacher. INSIDE EDITION has the story.
A high school sophomore talked about some disturbing video showing somebody stealing from a student's backpack. But it wasn't just any old thief.
"I was like, oh my gosh, I can't believe I got this on video," said Justine Betti. "I didn't want to believe that she would do something like that because she was so nice. But then, she did it!"
The "she" Betti is referring to in the video is a beloved teacher who has worked at the school for 30 years, and she's apparently been caught red-handed.
The drama began at a high school outside Sacramento, California, when a rash of locker room thefts had everybody wondering who the crook could be.
"Something needed to be done. That's not okay," said Betti.
So Betti hid inside a locker with a cell phone camera and could barely believe her eyes when the thief appeared. The thief removed something from the pink backpack, then dug into the pockets of someone's jeans, and it was all on videotape.
"I couldn't believe I had it. I kept watching it over and over," said Betti.
Betti says she showed the video to her fellow students, then brought it to the school principal.
"He said he would investigate it, and told us to delete the video, but I'd already sent it to my dad," said Betti.
The teacher has been placed on administrative leave, and the matter is being investigated by the school and the local sheriff's department. No charges have been filed, and the teacher's sister has been quoted as saying: "She would never steal. She doesn't need the money."
But the stunning images seem to tell a different story. And for this student sleuth, victory has a bittersweet taste.
"We feel like we did the right thing, but we feel bad," said Betti.
