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Two missing school computers turn up in homes, where the owners say they were gifts from a maintenance worker, says the Sheriff's Office.
By CARRIE JOHNSON
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 10, 2001
INVERNESS -- A maintenance man who worked for the Citrus County School system for more than 27 years has been arrested and accused of giving away two stolen school computers.
Ray D. Lockley, 50, of Crystal River, turned himself in to the Citrus County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday and was held on one count of dealing in stolen property.
The Sheriff's Office is still investigating whether Lockley is connected to other items stolen from local schools, spokeswoman Ronda Hemminger Evan said.
Lockley was put on administrative leave with pay about a week and a half ago after an investigation conducted by the school system suggested he might be linked with the stolen computers, said Sam Stiteler, personnel director for Citrus County schools.
Lockley is listed in school records as a facilities technician who has worked for the schools since February 1974. Stiteler said she could not comment on how Lockley came to be a suspect or the amount of property missing from the schools. "It is still an open investigation, and I am limited in what I can say," Stiteler said.
According to a 1999 Times story, Lockley worked as a plumber. Stiteler said that as a maintenance man, he would have had access to keys to several schools. Lockley received solid marks for his last evaluation in May 1999, and has no record of any previous problems, Stiteler said.
She said she didn't know what kind of computers were stolen. The Sheriff's Office estimated their worth at $4,400.
The case began in January, when a computer was reported stolen from Rock Crusher Elementary School. On April 23, sheriff's Detective Luther Willis received a tip the computer was at a home in Crystal River, Evan said.
Willis went to the house and talked to the owner, who said her ex-husband had given the computer to her sons for Christmas. The serial number matched the one stolen from Rock Crusher Elementary, according to the arrest report. The homeowner also said her ex-husband had kept an identical computer for himself. The ex-husband told Willis he had received the computers from his friend, Lockley, shortly before Christmas.
The serial number of the second computer matched one reported missing from Crystal River High School, the report said.
The homeowner and her ex-husband had not paid Lockley for the computers, although they talked with him about how well the computers were working, the arrest report said.
Lockley was interviewed by investigators on April 25. He told the detectives he was offered the computers by a Crystal River man driving a blue van, and that he paid $150 for them. Lockley also said he would agree to take a lie-detector test, the report said.
But on Tuesday, Lockley changed his story. A lawyer representing Lockley called Willis to tell him Lockley wouldn't be taking the test and wanted to turn himself in.
Lockley was arrested at the Citrus County jail and released on his own recognizance.
Lockley could not be reached for comment.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 726-4488 or the anonymous tip line at 1-888-ANYTIPS.