UCI Police Officer Accused in Theft of Campus Equipment : Burglary: Scott Eric Roberts, who was fired Dec. 20, faces felony charges that over three years he stole high-tech items. He plans to plead not guilty.

A UC Irvine police officer faces 17 felony charges that he stole computers and other high-tech equipment from campus buildings and a student’s dorm room, the Orange County district attorney’s office announced Wednesday.

Scott Eric Roberts, 34, who joined the university Police Department in 1984, was fired on Dec. 20 because of the criminal investigation. He has until Friday to post $10,000 bail or surrender at the Orange County Jail.

Defense attorney John Barnett said Roberts would post bail and plead not guilty to all the charges at his arraignment on Jan. 10.

Roberts, who lives with his wife and children in Trabuco Canyon, could face up to 11 years in state prison if convicted. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

“It’s very much of a shock and it’s very disappointing,” said UCI’s assistant police chief, Dennis Powers.

“Anybody who’s entrusted to protect somebody, and you find out they’re actually a violator, the public (is) outraged at that behavior,” said Powers, who described Roberts as a trusted employee. “(But) the men and women of our department, they work hard and they’re very concerned about their reputation in the community. Something like this sets us back. . . . It is devastating.”

The investigation began in October when a UCI computer turned up at Cal State Fullerton and officers traced it to a person who said he bought it from Roberts, Powers said. While UCI police and the district attorney’s office conducted a joint investigation, Roberts was placed on paid leave immediately.

The investigation is still continuing, but the current charges date back to January, 1991, when Roberts allegedly stole a cellular telephone from a student dormitory during winter vacation, Deputy Dist. Atty. Randy Pawloski said. In the three years since, prosecutors contend, Roberts has stolen a variety of computer parts, portable radios, stereo speakers, videocassette recorders and an electric typewriter from classroom and administrative buildings around the campus.

Powers said investigators had recovered about $20,000 in stolen property so far. All the alleged burglaries were “no force” or “key entry” jobs, leading police to believe they were committed by a university insider, he added.

With 23 sworn officers, UCI’s police force functions much like a municipal department. Roberts worked on the patrol division, and had the rank of corporal, or senior officer.

In the university’s 29-year history, Roberts is the first officer to be arrested for any type of criminal activity, UCI spokeswoman Karen Newell Young said.

“We’re never happy with equipment theft, but were pleased that the joint investigation has led to an arrest,” Young said. “We anticipate that the campus will be able to recover some of this equipment.”

Burglary has plagued the campus for years. In 1989, four students were expelled and sentenced to five years’ probation for a string of 14 heists in which $120,000 worth of computers were taken. Later that year, a series of 20 break-ins left the university with $80,000 worth of missing high-tech equipment.

Computer theft “is an ongoing problem and every university has it,” Powers said. “In a university-type of setting, a lot of your thefts are open-door or key-entry.”

In addition to the burglary charges, Roberts faces felony counts of possession and selling stolen goods. He is also charged with possessing nunchakus and a small amount of marijuana, both of which were discovered during a search of his home on Dec. 6, Pawloski said.

Both Pawloski and Powers said they expect more charges to be filed.

“The investigation isn’t near completion,” Powers said.

Roberts turned himself in late Tuesday afternoon and appeared in Newport Beach Municipal Court, where Judge Craig Edward Robison scheduled the arraignment for Jan. 10 and gave Roberts until Friday to post bail or surrender.

Times staff writer Anna Cekola contributed to this report.