ATTORNEYS CHECK FILES IN BREAK-IN; DEPUTY DAS' OFFICES HIT.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

Deputy district attorneys were attempting Monday to determine whether criminal case files were stolen in a weekend burglary of their Lancaster offices.

The burglar or burglars broke an exterior window, then rifled through desks and ransacked drawers, stealing loose change, radios, tape-recording devices, and papers with telephone numbers and addresses on them.

The burglars also smashed the glass front of one of the two snack machines in the office's front lobby.

``He only took sweets. He didn't like the low-fat pretzels,'' said head Deputy District Attorney John Spillane, surveying the remaining contents of the damaged vending machine.

The break-in at the office in the 1100 block of Avenue J occurred sometime between Friday night and Sunday morning. It was discovered Sunday by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies on routine patrol, Spillane said.

The total loss was estimated at about $1,000, Spillane said. He said he is not aware of a connection between the burglary and any current case.

Spillane was alerted and spent part of his Sunday putting up plywood to cover the broken window.

The burglars left high-priced items, such as computers, behind, officials said.