On the night of Sept. 20, during a football game between the Saratoga Falcons and the Mountain View Spartans, one or more culprits broke into a locked music room and stole about 20 cellphones, at least $1,000 in cash including $250 from one person, two guitars, shoes and one student's boxer shorts.

"It was basically anything you can think of that kids carry in their pockets," said Sgt. Joe DePrima, with the Los Gatos­Monte Sereno Police Department.

The 160 members of the marching band arrived at Los Gatos High School around 5:30 p.m. to change into their red-and-white marching band uniforms before going down to the field to perform at the football game, Kutter said. The band plays throughout the varsity game in the stands and performs a halftime routine as well.

The Falcons use Los Gatos High School for home football games at night because Saratoga doesn't have a lighted football field, DePrima said. Although the marching band's personal items and clothing were left unattended in the music room, the doors to the room were self-locking.

"Usually the places where we change are locked up," said Kutter, a sophomore who plays trombone in the marching band. "I've never heard of this happening."

After the halftime show, around 9:30 p.m., one of the pit percussion crew members went back to the music room to change and discovered the burglary. De Prima said 37 Saratoga students and three Los Gatos High School students had personal items taken.

"There were no signs of forced entry into the facility," he added.

Saratoga High School Principal Kevin Skelly speculated that maybe all the doors were not locked properly or that someone had a key to the building.

"We've never had anything like this happen since I've been principal—and I've been here 11 years," Skelly said.

Skelly said being robbed or vandalized never brings about good feelings.

"There's a tremendous sense of violation with these things," he said.

Kutter said that at first many of the students, herself included, thought the burglary was a joke, until the police arrived and students were questioned by investigators. Officer Randy Rimple was the first to arrive on the scene. Kutter said student reactions ranged from disbelief and anger to frustration.

"It just made me sad that someone would think to do something like this," Kutter sad. "I don't know if they needed the stuff, but by resorting to doing this, it shows they don't respect other people's stuff."

DePrima was unable to comment on the current status of the investigation, but did say police are following a few leads. The person or people responsible for the burglary used the cellphones on the night they were taken, according to students and parents of students in the marching band.

DePrima said as far as he was aware nothing of this magnitude has happened in the area in the past. There will also be appropriate and vigilant changes made at future football games to secure the belongings of the marching band, Skelly said.

Barbara Sotiriadis of Saratoga said her son, a sophomore who plays bass drum, was immediately relieved after he rushed over to his belongings in the music room to find nothing was missing. Sotiriadis, who coordinates the uniforms for the band, said a wallet and a watch are the only items her son usually takes with him to football games, besides his clothing and uniform.

Sotiriadis said she observed the marching band as word of the burglary spread from student to student. She said the members experienced shock and even tears when they found many of their belongings missing.

"It shattered their faith in their fellow students," she said. "It was pretty devastating. It made everybody a little more cautious and a little more skeptical."

She added that the students in the band have become closer to each other because of the incident. She said the band's director, Mike Boitz, encouraged the students to lean on each other for support.

Sotiriadis said when the band went on tour this summer to Europe from June 29 to July 9, the trip was basically crime-free, except for one student who may have been pick-pocketed in Vienna.

"When you are traveling you are a little more security conscious," Sotiriadis said.

Yet, the marching band was burglarized in its own backyard. Sotiriadis said the band members may have been naive or too trusting of their own community. She also added that there is a friendly rivalry between Los Gatos and Saratoga high schools, but nothing extreme enough to have provoked the incident.

Anyone with information about the burglary can contact the Los Gatos­Monte Sereno Police Department Investigations Unit at 408.354.6852.