GPD: Store employee steals nine laptops

A man was arrested Monday after stealing and pawning at least nine laptops from his place of work since November, Gainesville Police said.

Jimmy Bryan Rousseau, 28, who works at the business development company Mobiquity, was suspected of theft by the store’s manager when the manager noticed three laptops went missing from the store Friday, according to a police report.

The store is located near downtown at 606 SW Fourth Ave. Police said Rousseau had access to the laptops, three of have a total value of about $4,500.

Police discovered Rousseau pawned one of the laptops, an Apple MacBook, for $600 at TBG Jewelry and Pawn in January, according to the report. He returned to the pawn shop a week later and pawned two other Apple MacBooks for $1,400. Rousseau pawned at least six others, but the total value of the stolen products remains unknown.

He told the pawn shop he owned the laptops, according to the report. Police are still unsure if Rousseau stole anything else from the store.

Police arrested Rousseau on charges of grand theft, dealing in stolen property and false information on a pawn transaction form. Authorities took him to the Alachua County Jail, where he was released Tuesday on his own recognizance.

This is the first time Rousseau has faced a felony charge in Alachua County, according to court records.

Calls made to Mobiquity and Rousseau were not returned as of press time.

@merylkornfield

mkornfield@alligator.org