Deputies in Oregon Arrest Fugitive Computer Wizard

William Troy Landreth, a computer wizard who disappeared last September while serving a three-year probation for a federal wire-fraud conviction, has been arrested in Oregon, authorities say.

Landreth, 22, was arrested Friday afternoon in the rural town of McMinnville, near Portland, a spokesman for the Yamhill County, Ore., Sheriff’s Department said.

At the time of his arrest, Landreth was dirty, barefooted and dressed “very, very shabbily,” Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Lloyd said in San Diego. “He looked like a transient.”

The U.S. Marshals Service had conducted an intensive search for Landreth, following leads to Mexico and throughout the United States.

Known as ‘The Cracker’

Landreth wrote a book and earned the nickname “the Cracker” after breaking into some of the most secure computer systems in the country, including those at the Pentagon and National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Landreth was required to report regularly to U.S. probation authorities and notify them whenever he planned to leave Southern California. During his probation, Landreth also attended numerous speaking engagements and advised firms on how to increase the security of their computer systems.

Landreth generally abided by the probation requirements until he vanished, prompting friends to file a missing persons report.

Landreth was arrested after he was reported to authorities as a suspicious person, Yamhill County Sheriff’s Sgt. Rob Nou said.

Offered No Resistance

Once approached by a sheriff’s deputy, authorities said, Landreth told the deputy both his true name and a known alias, although he did not acknowledge that he was wanted for violating his probation.

A routine computer check showed that federal authorities were seeking him on the charge. Landreth offered no resistance, officials said.

It was not known how long he had been living in Oregon.