DETROIT — A Michigan State University football player has been charged as part of a months-long investigation into the theft of 104 laptop computers valued at $158,000 from several Detroit Public Schools.
Spartan tight end Dion Sims has been charged with receiving and concealing stolen property in a warrant by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. Nine other men face the same charges, including three Detroit residents described by Worth as being in a gang.
Sims, 19, a sophomore from Ypsilanti, has been suspended indefinitely from football team-related activities, Michigan State Athletics Director Mark Hollis said Tuesday in a statement.
"Since mid-February, we have been aware that Dion Sims and members of his extended family have been dealing with some legal issues," Hollis said. "Dion informed the coaching staff of the police investigation and has kept them apprised of the progress of the investigation."
Sims did not play in any of the team's first three games this season.
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison. He and the other suspects were expected to turn themselves over to authorities.
Three of the suspects — Brian Rogers, 20; Dwaine Scott, 19; and Mark Scott, 18 — also face charges of running a criminal enterprise, breaking and entering, and larceny. Worthy said the three Detroit men are believed to be members of a gang called the Helly Helly Bois.
Last December, 30 Apple MacBook laptops were taken during a break-in at a Detroit elementary school. Over the next month, 74 more laptops — Dells and MacBooks — were taken from three other schools.
Worthy said the computers eventually were sold to friends and acquaintances of the suspects, and on eBay and Craigslist.
Tracking mechanisms installed in the computers allowed authorities to track them to Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Tennessee Florida, Arizona, California, Canada and even to the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East.
"I've seen a lot of things since my time in Detroit — right down to people stealing bags of lunch money from our kids, but this case really floored me," said district emergency financial manager Robert Bobb. "This is about more than just dollars and cents. This is about stealing educational opportunities directly from our kids, and we aren't going to stand for it.
"The charges show that we don't care if you're a cowardly, two-bit criminal wearing a ski mask and raiding one of our schools in the middle of the night, or whether you're a football player from one of our state's biggest universities trafficking stolen goods in your off time," Bobb said. "We will track you down. We will find you. You will be charged criminally."
Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm appointed Bobb in March 2009 to fix the district's finances. He has uncovered a number of cases of theft, fraud and corruption since that time. Several former district employees have been charged.
He said 29 of the city's schools have been burglarized and 788 laptops stolen since June 2009. The computers were valued at more than $800,000.
Bobb has said the struggling district, which faces a budget deficit of $363 million, can't afford to lose any money. It faces a budget deficit of $363 million.