$10,000 in computer equipment stolen from Chinle High staffer

By Zsombor Peter
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Victor Trejo took an expensive doughnut break Thursday morning.

The Chinle High School technology director decided to make a quick doughnut run to the local Bashas' that morning. When he got back to his car, he had his doughnuts, but was $10,000 lighter.

Trejo had some very expensive equipment in his car that morning, equipment that helps keep the Chinle school district's computers and phones up and running. Unfortunately, he forgot to lock his car, and found the front passenger-side door wide open when he returned with the donuts.

Among the stolen goods was a Dell Latitude D-800 laptop computer that, said Trejo, "contains all the information of the entire infrastructure of the district."

That wouldn't be so bad if the backup computer wasn't stolen as well. Keeping the two together, he conceded, was not a wise idea.

Also stolen were a notebook Trejo said would be of no value to anyone else but held various codes and other technical information that took two years to put together. The thief, or thieves, made off with some additional electrical equipment for testing wires and accessing the Internet.

For now, said Trejo, the district's computers are all running and connecting to the Internet. If the system were to crash or go down all of a sudden, however, they'd be in some trouble. Barring a rain or thunderstorm, he says that's unlikely to happen soon, at least not within the next one or two weeks. That's how long he expects it will take him and his staff to build a new server and network for the district, since they also lost their passwords, which they'll have to replace as well.

On the bright side of things, the equipment is insured. And although the district has filed a report with the police, it's looking for the public's help. It's offering a $200 reward for information that helps the district recover the equipment, said Trejo, "no questions asked."

The Dell computer, a metallic light gray with a 20 inch monitor, was in a black and gray bag when stolen. Unlike most Dells, which have Pentium 4 processors, Trejo's was specially ordered and has a Pentium 5.

What the thief or thieves will be able to do with the equipment, he said, will depend on how much they know about computers. They could call the manufacturer for assistance, but he's already called to give the company the stolen computer's identification number. Since the district is rebuilding the system, the information the computers hold won't be much use anyway, he said. Of course, they could always try selling the stuff.

Anyone with information can call Trejo at 928-674-9400.

— To contact reporter Zsombor Peter, call 505-863-6811 ext. 217.