Man pleads guilty to laptop computer thefts
A man responsible for the theft of multiple laptop computers at Utah State University was arrested last week and has pleaded guilty to five counts of burglary and theft.
Derek Cammack, 22, Logan, was charged Thursday in the Utah First District Court for two counts of burglary and three theft charges. The charges, all third-degree felonies, carry a maximum penalty of five years for each offense in state prison.
Cammack will receive his sentence Dec. 23 from Judge Thomas Willmore.
USU Campus Police Lt. Steve Milne said he contacted Logan City Police to have them track receipts from local pawnshops to see if any laptops were pawned. When Milne gave the description of the suspect to Logan Detective Troy Thurston, Thurston recognized the description as someone who was arrested two years ago.
“We got a picture of the person, put him in a line-up and witnesses picked him out,” Milne said.
Two of the witnesses had seen Cammack in their offices in the Emma Eccles Jones Education Building and the Ray B. West Building.
Milne said Cammack confessed to the crimes as well as two burglaries that campus police had no knowledge about. None of the stolen items were recovered except for one laptop that was found in an Agri-cultural Science Building restroom. Milne said Cammack threw the other stolen items away.
“We have one more problem in this area. One of the things he confessed to was taking what he described as a large marble from an office,” Milne said.
Cammack could not remember what building or office he took the object from, nor where he put it, Milne said.
Milne attributed the successful apprehension of Cammack to Thurston’s ability to recall the information and campus police officer Jessica Spencer’s groundwork by interviewing witnesses.
Prosecuting attorney Don Linton reinforced the benefits Thurston and Spencer were in the investigation.
Cammack was recently released from the Utah State Prison for crimes committed two years ago. Thurston said a prior record was involved in the case that sent Cammack to prison two years ago, and will play a factor again when he is sentenced in December.
“That behavior and failure to modify that will definitely come into play,” Thurston said.
During his preliminary hearing, Cammack noted that he is manic-depressive and is on medication for depression. He said the medication worked when he first started taking it, but has had a diminished effect over time.
“If he’s depressed, this is not the outlet for that kind of depression,” Linton said. “This individual did cause some real damage.”
Linton said an individual having their laptop or briefcase stolen causes pain far deeper than monetary loss.
“This sort of thing has an enormous impact on people,” he said.
Cammack could be sentenced to 15 years in prison, Linton said.
When campus police first learned of the crimes, there was some question as to how someone was gaining entry into offices. There were no signs of forced entry at any crime scene, Milne said.
Those questions were solved upon questioning Cammack.
“In every one of these incidents, he stated he didn’t have to force anything open,” Milne said. “That’s a big thing that we push as far as make sure you lock up your belongings.
“We like to think that we live in happy valley, but theft is a big problem here,” he said.
-str@cc.usu.edu