Computer Firm Is Offered Parts Stolen From It

SANTA ANA —  A computer company that was robbed of $182,000 worth of equipment and later solicited to buy its own stolen products alerted sheriff deputies, who arrested a Santa Ana man, authorities said Wednesday.

Tony M. Nguyen, 30, was arrested about 9 a.m. Tuesday at Warner Avenue and Harbor Boulevard, Sheriff’s Lt. Ron Wilkerson said in a prepared statement. He was held on suspicion of knowingly receiving stolen goods and possessing a concealed weapon.

On Aug. 23, an employee for Lifetime Memory Products who was transporting $182,000 worth of computer equipment was robbed at gunpoint when he stopped at a shopping center at Bake Parkway and Lake Forest Drive to use the telephone, sheriff’s deputies said.

A week later, the company received a faxed list of computer equipment available for sale from AMT, a San Jose company, investigators said. The list included products that Lifetime officials recognized as their own.

Sheriff’s deputies were alerted and traced the stolen parts to Nguyen, an employee of Dynasty Memory Inc. in Santa Ana, Wilkerson said. Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of Nguyen, who investigators believe sold the stolen parts to AMT, Wilkerson said. Deputies said they recovered a 9-millimeter handgun in Nguyen’s van and $42,000 worth of computer chips apparently stolen from Lifetime.

Nguyen was released Tuesday after posting $10,000 bail. Neither AMT or Dynasty has been charged with a crime, Wilkerson said.