NEW YORK STOLEN COMPUTER UNCOVERED Drug bust uncovers stolen goods :: PostStar.comSTOLEN COMPUTERS UNCOVERED Drug bust uncovers stolen goods :: PostStar.com

Drug bust uncovers stolen goods

By ALEX NUNES
anunes@poststar.com

Updated: Thursday, September 11, 2008 10:11 PM EDT

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- A two-month-long marijuana trafficking investigation in Saratoga Springs led to multiple drug and stolen property arrests on Tuesday, the city Police Department said.

When police executed a search warrant at 62 Caroline St., Apt. 1, they found marijuana, an illegal gravity knife and a stolen laptop computer worth more than $1,000, authorities said.

Four people were arrested as a result of the search, police said.

Gregory Hinds, 25, of 62 Caroline St., was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor, and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, a felony, police said.

Courtney Shannon, 17, of the same address, was arrested for fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana.

Maggie McTague, 19, of 296 Nelson Ave., Saratoga Springs, was arrested for fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor, for having the gravity knife, police said. A gravity knife is similar to a switchblade but without a spring mechanism.

Daryll Spencer, 36, of 64 Central Ave., Apt. 3, in Saratoga Springs, was arrested for fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, a misdemeanor, police said.

Police said the laptop was stolen during a burglary at a home on the west side of Saratoga Springs over the weekend.

Authorities were able to confirm the computer was the one taken in that case because the victim had provided police with the serial number of the computer after the burglary, police said.

If people keep records of serial numbers or make special engravings on valuables such as computers, the likelihood of recovering stolen property are significantly better, said Saratoga Springs Police Sgt. Michael Welch.

"How many Dell 5100s do they make in the world?" Welch said. "If someone doesn’t record the serial number, the chances are a lot more slim."

The police encourage people to record serial numbers, take photographs, or engrave or otherwise make a unique mark on their valuables, Lt. Gregory Veitch said in a press release about the incident.

When victims report serial numbers to police, the digits are placed in a National Crime Information Center (NCIC) computer system, Welch said. With the assistance of the system, police could recover a computer in California and return it to its owner in Saratoga Springs, he said.

Hinds, Shannon and McTague were arrested shortly after the execution of the search warrant, and Spencer was arrested at his residence. Spencer allegedly was in possession of alcohol stolen in the weekend burglary.

All four suspects were arraigned in Saratoga Springs City Court, and additional arrests are expected in the burglary case, police said.