Student arrested for stealing laptop in library

Police discovered the identity of the thief of a stolen laptop Wednesday morning after University Information Technology Services located the culprit through its tracking system, said IU Police Department Sgt. Don Schmuhl, reading from an IU Police Department report.\nKevin A. Wright, 18, an IU student and Forest Quad resident, was arrested Wednesday morning for theft, a class D felony, Schmuhl said. According to the IU address book, Wright was also an IU Libraries employee. \nAfter being arrested Wright was transported to Monroe County Jail where his bail is $2,000 surety, $500 cash, said Sgt. T. Wasson of the Monroe County Jail.\nThe Dell laptop, valued at $1,000, was stolen from the Herman B Wells Library Sept. 17, Schmuhl said, where the owner of the computer had taken a study break on the fourth floor of the east tower, according to the report. When he returned about 10 minutes later, his laptop was gone, he said.\nUITS is able to track stolen or missing computers and note where they are if their users go online, Schmuhl said. UITS saw that someone used the stolen computer to access the Internet and then informed the police someone was using it.\n"They have a security division over there," Schmuhl said. "They can actually give us the building name and room that it's being used in." \nWhen police received the information, they were able to find the room the computer was in and recover the property, Schmuhl said.\n"The individual who got arrested actually did have the stolen computer with him at the time of his arrest," he said.\nSchmuhl said very few people know about UITS's ability to track stolen computers.\n"I know they're pretty quiet about giving out information on stuff like that," he said.\nUITS could not be reached for comment by press time.