Elementary School Burglar Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison

A Fayette man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for breaking into Berry Elementary School.

According to a press release from the 25th Judicial Circuit of Alabama, Nathaniel Albert Cannon entered a blind guilty plea to third-degree burglary. The 43-year-old was charged after breaking into the school back in November of 2018.

Among the items stolen are 11 handheld radios (a $5,000 value), two iPads, cash and other miscellaneous items. And, this is not the first time Cannon had been caught breaking into the school – he's done this once before and was caught by the Berry Police Department.

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Officers from the Fayette County Sheriff's Office and the Fayette Police Department assisted in the case.

“I’d like to commend these departments for the work that they put into conducting this investigation and building this case,” 24th Judicial Circuit District Attorney Andy Hamlin said in the release. “But for them going the extra mile and putting in this work, it would have gone unsolved.”

This new charge sits atop a long list of past convictions for Cannon, including eight prior adult felony convictions and multiple misdemeanors.

“We were able to prove Cannon’s eight prior felony convictions as well as the fact that he has previously burglarized this school. We were more less able to show to the court that he is a career criminal. Obviously, that resonated with the court given the sentence that was handed down,” Hamlin said in the release.

Judge Samuel Junkin was the one to make the call. Cannon currently sits in the Fayette County Jail and will soon be transported to the Alabama Department of Corrections.