ALABAMA COMPUTERS STOLEN http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20120616/NEWS01/306160024/Office-burglaries-investigated-Suspects-wanted-series-thefts-from-buildings?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFrontpage%7Cs

Office burglaries investigated: Suspects wanted in series of thefts from buildings

Police are looking for suspects in a series of office building burglaries that involved the theft of several dozen laptop computers.

There have been four office building burglaries carried out in similar ways dating back to 2006, Detective B.E. Thornell said.

In each of the burglaries, the perpetrators entered the building when it was close to closing and then hid and waited until everyone left, Thornell said.

Two of the burglaries happened May 5, at Merchant Capital on Eastchase Parkway and Sterling Centre on Carmichael Road. A similar burglary took place Jan. 6 at Carmichael Center on Carmichael Road.

Thornell discovered during his investigation that not only are those three burglaries similar, the 2006 burglary of Merchant Capital displayed the same pattern as well.

Thornell said after discovering the connection between the four burglaries in Montgomery, he decided to do some research and find out if it was happening elsewhere.

“That we were able to go back to 2006 tells me that this is not just random burglaries,” he said.

As it turns out, similar burglaries with the same mode of operation have been happening along the Eastern Seaboard, as far north as Baltimore, Md.

Thornell said it is unknown at this time whether the Montgomery burglaries are part of a larger operation or network.

A total of 47 laptops have been stolen in the Montgomery burglaries, with an approximate value of $40,000.

Any sensitive information on the laptops was encrypted, so it would be inaccessible to the burglars, Thornell said, adding that the burglars’ motives were more likely to be the quick turnover of the loot.

“(Laptops) are easy to wipe, reload and resell,” he said.

Thornell suggested that tenants renting space in large office buildings such as the ones targeted purchase their own alarm and video surveillance systems.

Also, software can be installed on a laptop to track the computer using GPS if it is stolen.

Police Chief Kevin Murphy suggested the more low-tech solution of having employees take the laptops home with them.

Anyone with information about the burglaries is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 215-STOP, Secret Witness at 262-4000 or the Montgomery Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division at 625-2831.