ST. LOUIS, Mo. – A man from Arkansas is facing charges after he was accused of burglarizing more than 20 schools and businesses in Missouri and Iowa.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, 40-year-old Curtis Lee Barton was indicted Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in St. Louis on one count of conspiracy to transport stolen property in interstate commerce and three counts of interstate transportation of stolen property.

The indictment claims Barton and another person stole a total of at least $50,000 from May 2023 through April 2025, officials said. Missouri schools that were listed in the indictment include one in Lewistown, Brookfield, Shelbyville and Adair County.

Court records say some of the money stolen from schools had been set aside for struggling children and the Special Olympics, officials said.

The indictment also states that Barton researched his targets and authorities in the area before breaking into the schools in the middle of the night to avoid detection.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office in Iowa investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.