Two arrested after burglary at Alice ISD maintenance shop

Two people were arrested after an alleged burglary at the Alice ISD maintenance shop on N Stadium Rd, and investigators were also looking into additional break-ins tied to the case. The arrests put a spotlight on a building that sits at the center of the district’s day-to-day operations, where repairs, upkeep and support work help keep campuses running.

Alice Independent School District describes its operations and maintenance mission as providing a clean, safe, cost-effective and instructionally supportive school environment. Michael Hinojosa is listed as the district’s director of operations and maintenance, and the department sits alongside transportation in the district’s operational structure, underscoring how much of Alice ISD’s behind-the-scenes work runs through that site.

A burglary at that location raises more than a simple property issue. If tools, equipment or materials were taken or damaged, the district could be forced to redirect money from upkeep to replacement, and any disruption to maintenance work can ripple into classrooms, buses and campus readiness. The reference to additional break-ins also suggests investigators were trying to determine whether the shop burglary was isolated or part of a broader pattern affecting district property.

The case lands in a district that has already invested in security measures across its campuses. Alice ISD says those efforts include front-door entry renovations, visitor identification procedures, increased safety drills, campus security increases, improved security camera surveillance, on-campus police officers and metal detectors. A break-in at the maintenance shop tests those layers of protection outside the classroom and puts attention on how well district facilities are being watched after hours.

The investigation also unfolded within the broader public-safety structure in Jim Wells County and the City of Alice. The Jim Wells County Sheriff’s Department says its mission is to serve the people of the county with duty, honor and professionalism, while the City of Alice says its police department handles the planning, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the city’s law-enforcement activities. Both agencies are part of the local system that responds when school property is targeted.

The burglary comes against a backdrop of earlier Alice property-crime cases, including a 2022 Alice Police Department case involving about $50,000 in stolen property and a 2022 incident in which deputies interrupted a burglary in progress and found two suspects on the property. For Alice ISD, repeated break-ins do more than damage locks and doors; they raise the cost of protecting taxpayer-funded facilities that keep the district functioning.