Police name person of interest in theft case

DAPHNE, Ala. (WALA) - Daphne Police are on the trail of some suspects who stole $35,000 worth of computers from two different stores.  

Items stolen include various Apple products like iPhones and MacBook laptops. Daphne police have identified a person of interest in the case, and they need your help finding him.

Jeff Schofield, better known as The Computer Guy in Daphne remembers the phone call he got at 1:00 a.m. on Oct. 10.

“We had glass that was shattered out,” Schofield recalled.  “We had a candy machine there that was busted and knocked out of the way and just glass everywhere.”

Thieves made off with two iMac personal computers and also tried to steal the cash register.  Schofield says he’s sure the thieves would have made off with more, if it hadn’t been for some fishermen getting ice from a nearby ice machine.

Investigators found the store’s cash register in the parking lot with money scattered around, but the two computers were gone.

Schofield wasn’t alone.

Just days before and only two blocks away, another computer repair store, Baker Bytes in downtown Daphne, was also hit.

The thieves broke in the back door and made off with several computers, an iPhone, an iPod and even a safe.

“A ton of damage…it was done in the middle of night when nobody’s around and unfortunately there was no surveillance cameras working at the time and the alarm systems were either non-existent or didn’t work,” said Lt. Jud Beedy with the Daphne Police Department.

Police got their first break after one of the stolen computers was brought to the Broken iPhone store in Mobile to be sold.  A surveillance camera caught the suspect and police believe the man is Kentari Nettles of Mobile. Investigators say Nettles is a person of interest at this point and want to talk to him.

“He has quite a large star tattooed on the side of his neck so with the picture that we’ve got from his drivers license, the picture that we got from the store in Mobile and the description of the star tattoo, Mr. Nettles is definitely a person of interest in this case,” Beedy said.

Schofield was happy to recover his cash, but isn’t hopeful to get his computers back. At this point, he just wants the thieves caught.

“Equipment can be replaced,” Schofield said. Yeah…it would be great to have it back, but to have him caught…that would be, you know…that would make me feel great.”

Investigators believe these two burglaries may be linked to several similar ones in Mobile, including one at the Broken iPhone store. 

If you have any information on the whereabouts of Kentari Nettles, you’re asked to call the Daphne Police Department.