James D. Bessette, 25, New London, was charged with felony theft and computer crime.
On May 10, 2013, Clintonville Police Sgt. Gene Meyer began investigating the theft of two laptop computers from the IT department at Walker Forge. One was valued at $2,020, and the other was worth an estimated $950.
Tracking software had been installed on the laptops. On June 13, one of the computers was connected to the Internet and traced to Appleton eSchool.
Meyer subsequently met with an Appleton woman, who said she had purchased a laptop for $120 from a pawnshop on June 14.
Meyer then spoke with a clerk at the pawn shop who said Bessette had brought in the two computers, according to the criminal complaint.
Bessette allegedly reformatted the drives on the laptop, thereby erasing all the company information they contained.