El Segundo Police Raise $5K To Replace Teen's Stolen College Fund

EL SEGUNDO (CBSLA.com) — When burglars took $2,000 in tutoring money that had been earmarked for college, El Segundo police came to the rescue.

Kristin Villanueva, who was her high school's valedictorian and on her way to study materials engineering at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, was hit especially hard by a recent burglary at the 17-year-old's home.

"The suspects had stolen the tutoring money I had been saving for four years," she said.

But El Segundo police officers were not willing to let that stand in her way. They set up a GoFundMe page to replace the stolen cash, and raised $5,000 in nine days.

The officers presented a check to a beaming Kristin Tuesday.

"It was a bummer, but I'm really happy that they were able to turn it around," she said.