NC State students charged with stealing pieces of basketball court

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Five students are charged with stealing pieces of what used to be the floor of a basketball court on North Carolina State University’s campus.

News outlets report masked men entered Reynolds Coliseum on Dec. 7 and stole two wooden panels from a storage area. Pieces of the original floor had been saved for historical value after the arena was remodeled in 2016.

Maj. David Kelly with campus police says the panels valued at $1,300 each were recovered, but one was damaged beyond repair.

The NC State students charged are 21-year-old Benjamin Christopher Ogburn, 21-year-old Te-shawn J-Quan Lee, 18-year-old Michael Jesus Delgado and 21-year-old Robert Wayne Marble. The fifth suspect, Samuel Brightbill, attends Wake Technical Community College.

Ogburn’s lawyer says nothing suggests the act was malicious. The reports didn’t include comment from the others.