Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Officer David Graham Charged with Possession of Stolen Property

An Upstate officer was on the other side of the law Monday, accused of stealing from a local college.

In recent months, on the campus of Greenville Tech computers and equipment started disappearing from locked classrooms.

Some of the stuff stolen included 10 computers, two laptops, and four projectors. The missing equipment was valued at more than $10,000.

Campus police said they believe the thief was one of their own.

David Graham, who worked for the school police department for about a year, is now charged with possession of stolen property.

"What you don't want is police officers who are supposed to be above reproach and above what the average citizen is supposed to do taking care of things and securing them being the one stealing items from you," said Greenville Tech Police Chief Bobby Welborn.

Officers said they found the stolen stuff at Graham's home in Westminster.

They may have never traced the crime if it wasn't for a computer tech who lives in Dallas, Texas.

"If he'd been a nice guy I'd probably not have done anything, but he ticked me off the way he didn't want to help me return the item," said Shep Johnson.

Johnson unknowingly bought one of the stolen computers on eBay and said it wasn't what he paid for.

The listing said the computer was "acquired from a business that was shutting down."

But a lot of red flags went off including a screen that popped up on Johnson's new computer that said "Greenville Tech."

"I thought there's something wrong with this whole deal and I'm going to call this Greenville Technical College and see if they're missing a computer," Johnson said.

That information lead to Graham's arrest.

Investigators said the case is still not closed. They said they believe he didn't commit the crime alone.

According to the report, Graham told officers he had financial problems and that was his reason for the theft.

Graham has now been fired.
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http://www.wyff4.com/news/20909510/detail.html

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