Two men who stole numerous computers and another who assisted them in wiping information from the hard drives were charged in 3rd District Court.
Police arrested two men, 22 and 31, who admitted to burglarizing several businesses in Salt Lake County more than a month ago. According to court documents filed this past week, the men and "several confederates" broke into various businesses between Aug. 29 and Sept. 10 and took computers, digital cameras and office equipment with the intent to re-sell the items. The men arranged to have the computers' contents "wiped" and then reloaded with pirated software to make them marketable, court documents state.
Fingerprints were found in six of the burglarized locations, and a photo of one of the men was found on a laptop computer slated to be wiped. Court documents state that the duo made off with nearly $20,000 in equipment from the businesses.
The men are charged with several counts of theft, burglary, and criminal mischief, all counts being charged as felonies.
A 27-year-old accomplice was charged with theft by receiving stolen property and criminal mischief, all second-degree felonies, for his role in re-configuring the computers.
Court documents state that restitution will be sought for the burglarized businesses.