ARKANSAS UNIVERSITY POLICE ARREST COMPUTER THIEVES UA Police Department arrests two people accused of theft - News

UA Police Department arrests two people accused of theft

UAPD

Jack Willems

The UA Police Department arrested two people accused of stealing computers Tuesday, said a spokesman for the UAPD.

UA student Matthew Short was arrested on a warrant at his apartment Tuesday and charged with a beta projector, a document camera andstealing seven laptop ThinkPadcomputers from the Walton College of Business, said Lt. Gary Crain, UAPD public information officer. All the equipment, which was collectively worth more than $13,000, has been recovered.

The theft occurred between 4:50 p.m. on Oct. 16 and 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 17, Crain said. Short had access to the room where the computers were kept, Crain said, but he has given no reason for his actions.

The theft was odd because most of the number of computers that were taken, Crain said.

"It is rare that this many are stolen," Crain said. "Usually, they find that the door has been left open and they just take one."

In an unrelated case, the UAPD also arrested UA staff member Troy Hatfield, and charged him with the theft of seven computers from Ferritor Hall, Crain said. The theft occurred between Aug. 31 at 10 a.m. and Sept. 4 at 1:30 p.m. The computers in question, which collectively cost more than $7,600, were "so brand new they were still in the boxes," Crain said.

"[Hatfield] told us that he had disposed of the computers," Crain said, "so we are thinking that he sold them."

The university will seek restitution from Hatfield for the computers, Crain said. Hatfield had access to the computers at an earlier time. He "set it up where he could come back and get them later," Crain said.

There have been 23 reports of stolen computers on campus this year concerning 38 separate computers, Crain said. Usually, computers are stolen from open areas or dorm rooms, and they are usually personal computers, he said.

To prevent personal computer theft, students should not leave their computers in open areas unattended and lock the doors to their rooms, Crain said.

"It is very, very rare for anyone to break into a room," Crain said. "Most of the time the door was unlocked and they just came in."

To prevent computers being stolen from computer labs, students should not let anyone into a lab who does not already have access, especially if they are unfamiliar, Crain said. It is rare for people to steal from labs, however, because there is usually someone in the lab at the time, he said.