Police: Joliet Junior College student stole computers from school

A Joliet Junior College student was arrested for stealing two computers from a lab at the community college, police said.

About 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Andrew C. Almocera, 19, of the 200 block of Violet Drive in Romeoville was arrested and booked into the Will County jail on a charge of theft.

JJC Police Chief Pete Comanda said police received a report from the college’s information technology department about two computers missing from a student computer lab.

The computers that were missing were HP EliteDesk 800 PCs that are worth about $825 each, he said.

JJC police used theft-tracking hardware and tracked the computers to a home address on Violet Drive in Romeoville, Comanda said, and Almocera was identified as a suspect in the theft.

On Wednesday, JJC police obtained a search warrant for the residence, Comanda said, and the next day, police served the warrant at 8 a.m. and recovered the missing computers.

Comanda said Almocera was cooperative. He said Almocera stole the computers because he wanted to use them “for gaming and other stuff” at his home.

Almocera faces two counts of theft, one of which is a Class 2 felony, which can be punishable by three to seven years in prison, while the other is a Class 3 felony, which can be punishable by two to five years in prison.