Gurnee Woodland District 50 employee charged with stealing over $105,000 in school equipment

Police say a Woodland School District 50 employee in Gurnee stole over $105,000 worth of electronic devices from the school and sold them on eBay over the span of years.

The Gurnee Police Department said they began investigating a report of stolen electronic equipment from the technology department at Woodland School District 50 in November.

The school district received several calls from people across Lake County who purchased the electronic equipment on eBay, according to Gurnee Police Department Public Information Officer Shawn Gaylor.

The devices were locked and displayed a message indicating the device belonged to Woodland School District 50.

The school district compared serial numbers from the eBay purchases to their inventory and confirmed the equipment belonged to the school district, Gaylor said.

David J. May, 53, of Lindenhurst, was identified as the suspect in the case following a thorough investigation.

May, who was an employee in the technology department, had been taking the electronic equipment from the school and selling it on eBay for a personal profit, Gaylor said.

May’s role within the technology department allowed him to inventory equipment, manipulate documents and records, and confiscate devices without detection, Gaylor added.

Records obtained from eBay for May’s account indicated several serial numbers from computers, cameras and other electronic devices matched the missing inventory from Woodland School District 50.

Detectives learned that May sold over $105,000 worth of electronic devices from the school district during his employment.

Court records indicate the theft had been going on since 2016.

The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office approved charges of two counts of theft, a Class 1 felony, two counts of online sale of stolen property, a Class 2 felony, electronic fencing, a Class 2 felony, and computer fraud, a Class 3 felony.

An arrest warrant was issued and May was taken into custody on Thursday. He was released on a $5,000 bond and is expected to appear in court on June 7.