Herald staff
MONROE — Corrections officials shut down a computer class for inmates while authorities investigate the theft from a prison classroom of a hard drive, three compact discs and about five computer tapes.
Investigators say the theft apparently occurred sometime Wednesday night from one computer, Willie Daigle, associate superintendent of the Twin Rivers Correctional Center, said Friday.
A student aide in the Edmonds Community College computer class informed the instructor that there was something strange about a computer, Daigle said. "It seemed like something was wrong or some software was missing," he said. "It was off the backup server for the instructor."
Monroe police seized the computer to search it for evidence, and both the prison’s investigators and city police are investigating. Classes will resume after the investigation is concluded.
Authorities want to determine what’s missing, how many people had access to the computer, who may have taken it and where the missing items went.
The college provides daily classes Monday through Friday, and computers are used by different inmates, Daigle said. A password is not required to log on.
Classrooms are locked and only staff members have keys, Daigle said. Inmates clean the rooms while instructors are present. The classrooms are not monitored by individual security cameras, he said.
"Who would remove something like that, unless an inmate was going to build a computer? Where are you going to do it?" Daigle asked.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.