Teacher recognizes a burglary suspect. They went to school together – 40 years ago.

A Woodland High School teacher whose tip led to an arrest in the Father's Day burglary of the Dos Coyotes restaurant in Folsom was presented with a $5,000 reward by the restaurant's owner.

Michael Monk, who teaches wood shop at Woodland High, saw a video of the suspect that Dos Coyotes owner and founder Bobby Coyote posted on social media and recognized the man as a classmate from his high school class of 1978. He called a tip line set up by the Folsom Police Department and identified the burglar as 56-year-old Kenneth Alan Basnett, according to a Dos Coyotes news release announcing the presentation of Monk’s reward.

The Dos Coyotes burglary occurred about 7 a.m. June 30. A man wearing an orange reflective vest cut through the roof of the restaurant and lowered himself into the building. He was captured on video by security cameras. Once inside, he set off motion detectors and the alarm system, but escaped before police arrived.

Coyote said nothing was taken in the burglary, but the resulting damage, which included cutting wires of the restaurant’s information system, kept the restaurant closed on Father’s Day.

While Folsom detectives were investigating Basnett as a suspect, he was arrested after attempting to break into Cold Stone Creamery on West Stockton Boulevard in Elk Grove.

Basnett pleaded no contest to the burglaries. He was sentenced to 5 years probation and received a suspended sentence of three years and eight months in state prison. He is being treated in a diversion program, which, if successfully completed, will allow him to avoid the prison sentence.

Detective Donald Rowberry of the Folsom Police Department said the program is designed to deal with factors that lead to criminal behavior, such a drug addiction or gambling.

Coyote presented Monk with the $5,000 reward check Thursday at Dos Coyotes Border Cafe in Folsom. Monk said he plans to donate the money to Woodland High School to help purchase supplies for his students.

This story was originally published December 23, 2016 at 7:07 AM with the headline "Teacher recognizes a burglary suspect. They went to school together – 40 years ago.."