Peeved eBay Buyers Tip Off School To Stolen Electronics: Police

GURNEE, IL — An employee with the technology department for Woodland School District 50 was arrested on accusations he stole schools' electronic equipment and then sold it on eBay, authorities said Friday. Those eBay buyers ended up tipping off District 50 to the missing equipment, which lead to the arrest of David May of Lindenhurst on Thursday.

May, 53, is accused of selling more than $105,000 in electronic devices that belonged to the school district, according to a news release from the Gurnee Police Department. May manipulated documents and records to hide that he was stealing the computers, cameras and other electronic devices, authorities said.

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The school district began looking into the matter after receiving several calls from people who'd purchased the devices over eBay. The callers told school officials the devices were locked and displayed a message indicating the electronics belonged to District 50, according to the news release.

School officials compared serial numbers from the eBay purchases with their inventory and confirmed the equipment belonged to District 50, police said. They also tied May to the crime, according to the news release.

May was arrested on Thursday. He is charged with theft, theft by deception, two counts of online sale of stolen property, electronic fencing and computer fraud.

He has been released on a $5,000 bond and is next expected in court on June 7.