ST. PAUL
Carlos R. Macedonio failed to think of at least two things when he brought his son to Highland Park Junior High School to be enrolled, police say.
One: The school has security cameras.
Two: He and the boy's mother gave their home address to school officials when they signed him up.
Then, according to police, Macedonio swiped a laptop computer that belonged to a network technician for the school district who "had temporarily left it unguarded," according to a criminal complaint filed Friday and made public Monday in Ramsey County District Court.
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The complaint has more details:
The three walked into the South Snelling Avenue school Nov. 17 and signed in at a security desk.
After they had enrolled the boy, Macedonio walked out with the Lenovo Think Pad computer, along with tools, cables and connectors in the computer bag, the complaint said. He and the boy "headed straight for the parking lot," while the mother, Desiree Thinelk, signed them out.
Macedonio, 28, of St. Paul, was charged with theft. A phone number for him could not be found Monday.
Police talked to school officials who saw the incident on security cameras. Officers went to the address provided by Thinelk on the school application.
When they told her they were there for the computer, she instructed the boy to get it. He and an officer went upstairs, and the officer recovered the computer.
The police then arrested Macedonio at the house. When told why he was being arrested, Macedonio said, "I didn't take the computer out of the school, (the kid) did."
Thinelk was not charged.
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The computer and the other contents of the bag were estimated to be worth more than $1,000, the complaint said.
Macedonio was ordered make his first court appearance Dec. 23.
His criminal history includes a 2006 firstdegree attempted burglary conviction in Hennepin County for which he was sentenced to nearly 3 1/2 years in prison.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
