CUSD employee helps police nab aluminum thieves

A Claremont Unified School District employee found himself in the right place at the right time Wednesday afternoon, helping to take down 2 suspects wanted for a theft at El Roble earlier that day. Between 10:30 p.m. the previous day and 5:45 a.m. that morning, 4 aluminum tables and seats worth an estimated $5,000 were stolen from the intermediate school’s lunch area. Later that day, while at a recycling center in Montclair, the CUSD employee noticed a large truck with the aluminum benches in the back. He provided the truck’s description and license plate to the police, who were able to obtain the names of the suspect from a receipt provided by the recycling center attendant. Police arrested Sydney Hill, 44, of Claremont, and Jason Buffamonti, 39, of Pomona, in connection with the burglary.