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County worker faces computer theft charge By SARAH LEMON An employee of Jackson County Mental Health who allegedly stole computers from the county and sold them said he was trying to cover his gambling debts. David Elston Barnes, 57, of Medford, was cited for aggravated first-degree theft Thursday. The date of his court appearance was not scheduled. Barnes was placed on administrative leave, said Mark Ornoff, deputy director for Jackson County Health and Human Services. Once the department receives police reports, it will conduct an internal investigation of Barnes' involvement with the missing computers, he said. Barnes admitted to the theft and apologized to other county employees Thursday. "I really regret it; it's a mistake," he told the Mail Tribune. The mental health skills trainer who has been employed with the county for 11 years said he has been attending Gamblers Anonymous meetings for the past five years and has sought personal counseling. Medford police said they received an anonymous tip about the case that had gone unsolved since three Compaq computers still in their original boxes were reported stolen in October of 2000 from a storage room in the county Health and Human Services building on East Main Street. There was some suspicion that a county employee may have been involved, so locks were changed and access to keys restricted, said Medford police detective Bill Ford. About a month later, six more brand-new computers and four monitors were reported stolen, he said. Ornoff said he wasn't aware that any county employees were under suspicion of stealing. The total value of the computers is approximately $12,000. Barnes reportedly removed the door-hinge pins to enter the storage room, loaded the computers in a county-owned van and then shipped them to California by Greyhound bus to be sold in a computer store owned by an acquaintance, Ford said. Barnes received money for the computers via Western Union, he said. Some computers were stored at Barnes' home and others in rented storage units. Two Futurepower monitors, sold for $100 each, were advertised in the Mail Tribune classified section. Barnes told police. All serial numbers were removed before the components were sold, Ford said. Only one computer has been recovered. Anyone with information about these items is asked to contact the Medford Police Department detectives division at 774-2230. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail slemon@mailtribune.com |
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