Brock Cochran's summons to West Bath District Court for September 21 most likely will be postponed. According to Lieutenant Mark Waltz of the Brunswick Police Department, Cochran, accused of stealing electronics in multiple parts of Maine, was revealed to have a prior record of thefts. If convicted, these prior occurrences would bump the current charges against him to felonies.
According to Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols, Cochran is suspected for crimes by Bar Harbor Police, Ellsworth Police, Brunswick Police, the University of Southern Maine, South Portland Police, Portland Police, Augusta Police and Maine State Police.
Nichols said Cochran has been formally charged with the theft of an iPod from the Peter Buck Center and is suspected of stealing three MacBook Pros from Bowdoin's campus last March.
Nichols expressed that his priority is returning the laptops to their respective owners.
"He's got numerous charges coming his way," Nichols said. "The College isn't necessarily looking to add to those charges. I am highly motivated to get these laptops back if they are even retrievable."
Nichols said he spoke to Cochran's attorney on two occasions and was scheduled to talk a third time regarding the laptops specifically, but Cochran's lawyer did not call back.
Nichols added that if the laptops were not located and the District Attorney gave the go ahead on the case, the College would be pressing charges.
Devon Shapiro '13, who had his laptop stolen last spring, said having the laptop returned to him would be an inconvenience at this point.
"My parents' homeowners insurance paid for me to get a new laptop at a relatively minimal deductible," Shapiro said. "I don't know if [getting my old computer back] would put me in a tough place because of insurance."
Despite aggressively seeking to retrieve the computers, Nichols was not optimistic. He speculated that there was a one in 10 chance of getting them back, stating that in most cases like this the thief will sell the stolen merchandise quickly.