A woman hiding in the ceiling above a bathroom and a man caught in a parking lot with copper pipe stuffed in his trunk — that is how St. Louis County police say they broke up a burglary at the long-shuttered Trinity Catholic High School in Spanish Lake. Michael Caban, 48, and April Hagopain, 43, both of Granite City, Illinois, now face felony charges after officers responded to the vacant school building on the 1700 block of Redman Road in north St. Louis County.
According to KMOV, St. Louis County prosecutors charged Caban and Hagopain with second-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools after police said they found the pair burglarizing the property. Police located Caban in the parking lot near his car, its trunk open, containing copper pipe, a power saw, a drill, and other tools associated with forced entry, the station reports. Both suspects are being held at the St. Louis County jail on $50,000 cash-only bond.
Officers found Hagopain hiding inside the ceiling above a bathroom, wearing a headlamp and carrying a knife used to cut drywall, per the same account. A ladder and sledgehammer were discovered on the floor directly beneath her hiding spot. Caban reportedly told investigators he did not know it was illegal to enter abandoned buildings and take whatever he wanted, and identified two other individuals, known only as Rob and Dustin, as still being inside the building at the time.
Missouri Burglary Law
Missouri law describes second-degree burglary in terms of unlawful entry and criminal intent, as detailed by Richard H. Sindel, INC.
Second-degree burglary under Missouri Revised Statutes § 569.170 is a Class D felony carrying up to seven years in prison, and it requires only proof of unlawful entry paired with intent to commit a crime — no weapons, violence, or occupants need be present, according to FindLaw. Separately, possession of burglary tools under § 569.180 is a Class E felony punishable by up to four years in prison and fines as high as $10,000, as explained by Criminal Defense Lawyer, which notes prosecutors must show the tools were adapted or commonly used for forced entry and possessed with intent to break in.
The copper pipe found in Caban's trunk carries its own statutory weight. Missouri Revised Statutes § 569.119 designates unauthorized possession of stolen copper or telecommunications materials as a Class E felony, one that can escalate to a Class D felony if the material came from critical infrastructure or the offender is a repeat offender, per Missouri statute. A 2021 House bill removed a previous exemption for scrap-metal sales under $50 from recordkeeping requirements, according to the Salem News.
A Building Empty Since 2021
Trinity Catholic High School closed at the end of the 2020–2021 school year, and the Archdiocese of St. Louis has owned the vacant property on Redman Road ever since. The Archdiocese cited a sharp decline in local enrollment and prohibitive infrastructure repair costs when it shut the school down, according to KSDK.
Trinity Catholic served co-educational Catholic students in north St. Louis County for nearly two decades, KSDK notes.
All Things New Initiative
The Archdiocese of St. Louis launched an initiative called All Things New in 2022.
Caban and Hagopain are from Granite City, Illinois.
St. Louis County police said Caban and Hagopain were found burglarizing the former Trinity Catholic High School, and investigators continue looking into the identities of Rob and Dustin, the two individuals Caban reportedly named as still being inside the building.
