The two arrested individuals, 25-year-old Heather Lewis of Barnard, Vt. and 25-year-old Michael Phillips of White River Junction, were held in Grafton County Jail last night on Class B felony charges and will be arraigned today in Lebanon, Giaccone said. Lewis is charged with two counts of theft, which are felony charges due to the value of the property stolen. Phillips is charged with being an accomplice to theft, receiving stolen property and conspiracy to commit theft, all Class B felonies, according to Giaccone.
Phillips worked for Dartmouth as a custodian in Baker-Berry Library prior to his arrest, but Lewis had no connection to the College, Giaccone said.
The police have been conducting surveillance at Baker-Berry Library for over a week and were aware of the suspects' identities, according to Giaccone. Working with the Hartford Police Department, Hanover Police was "able to trace the steps of these two individuals as they disposed of some of the stolen property," according to a press release.
Hanover Police planted a new laptop in the library and witnessed Lewis enter Baker-Berry on Wednesday and exit approximately 20 minutes later, at which time officers suspected she had taken a laptop. Officers stopped the suspects' car on Webster Avenue and both were arrested, Giaccone said. Phillips also received a violation for driving without a valid license.
Two laptops were stolen on Wednesday and Hanover Police is working to recover more laptops in addition to the 12 already found, according to the press release.
Bail for Phillips was set at $10,000, while Lewis' bail was set at $15,275 because of an outstanding bench warrant for her arrest from the Keene District Court, according to Giaccone.
Giaccone said that the Hanover Police Department is working to return the recovered laptops to their owners some of whom have already been contacted though he is asking owners to retain the computers for evidence reasons until the conclusion of the cases.
"Generally they're kept as evidence, but due to the exam period coming up, we're trying to make arrangements to have them returned, but we also have to make sure they're properly recorded as evidence," he said.
The most recent theft occurred in the East Asian Room, and the owner of that laptop has been contacted, according to Giaccone.
Giaccone said that Hanover Police suspect other individuals may be responsible for some of the 22 reported thefts and emphasized that students must take "personal responsibility" for protecting their property.
"Just because we have these two in custody doesn't mean that other thefts can't and won't occur in the future," he said. "Students are just leaving their stuff unattended all over the place that's open access. They're just inviting the loss of their property."
