MINNESOTA COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM KENNEDY HIGH SCHOOLMNSUN - NewsMan arrested in theft of Kennedy computers
By Harvey T. Rockwood
Sun Newspapers
(Created 1/20/2005 9:44:22 AM)


Bloomington police last week arrested a Richfield man in connection with the alleged theft of about 20 personal computers from Kennedy High School.
The man, a Kennedy employee, came under suspicion when another school staff member passed the suspect’s Richfield home and noticed a handmade sign offering computers for sale at $100 each, according to police reports.

Police said each of the stolen Compaq computers was worth about $800. They had been placed in storage at the high school and were slated to be replaced with newer models.

The staff member reported what he had seen to police, who sent two undercover officers to the suspect’s home.

The officers bought two of the computers from the Richfield man, said Commander Kevin Herman, spokesman for the Bloomington Police Department. Some of the computers officers saw in the home bore stamps designating them “Property of the Bloomington School District.”

Eight computers were recovered, Herman said. An investigation continued last week.

No charges had been filed late last week, but Herman said police expected to turn the case over to the Hennepin County attorney’s office early this week.

The suspect has been a Bloomington School District employee since March 1999, according to district spokeswoman Christine Dufour. She said that the state data practices law prohibits the district from releasing much information about the suspect.

Dufour added that the district is aware of the thefts and that “appropriate actions are being taken.”