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Ex-Convict Held in Computer Parts Thefts : Crime: Man convicted in Cal State Fullerton case is suspected in series of university burglaries.

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From Associated Press

A Fullerton man arrested in a burglary of costly computer parts is being investigated for dozens of such thefts at universities across the nation, authorities said Wednesday.

Avram Morar, 23, who previously was convicted for the theft of computer parts from Cal State Fullerton, was arrested at the University of Washington in Seattle on Saturday after campus police chased him on foot for about half a mile. A burglary charge was filed against Morar on Wednesday.

Campus police caught up with Morar after somebody rigged a computer to page its owner if the machine was turned off, said university police Capt. Randy Stegmeier.

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He was holding 125 computer memory boards and a pipe wrench believed to have been used to break into an area where computer parts were stolen, Stegmeier said.

The circumstances were similar to a theft at Portland State University last Friday night and 25 other such burglaries at the University of Washington since early April.

A thief or thieves who breaks doorknobs with a pipe wrench and steals expensive computer parts has also hit universities in California, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia this year.

He said university investigators are in contact with their counterparts in other states to determine if the burglaries are linked.

FBI Agent Dick Thurston in Seattle said agents are investigating the case for possible federal violations, including interstate transportation of stolen goods and computer hacking.

Memory boards and microprocessors were taken in the burglaries at the universities in Portland and Seattle. The chips are the electronic brain of most desktop computers.

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The cost of computer chips went up about 50% after a July 4 fire that damaged a Japanese factory that manufactures most of the world’s supply of a chemical used to seal most computer chips.

Nichols said the thief who broke into Portland State on Friday night had a good knowledge of computers.

“This fellow knew exactly what he was after, exactly what he was looking for,” she said. “He was quite gentle with the computers. He simply opened them and took the parts.”

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