MONROE - A felony theft charge against the former tech director of the Albany school district is moving forward in Green County Circuit Court after a judge heard testimony on the case Tuesday.
Gregory J. Colden, 56, Monroe, faces a Class I felony alleging he helped himself to district-owned electronics with a combined purchase-price value of about $4,300 and kept them at his home in the 2200 block of 12th Avenue.
He also faces two counts of modifying and possessing data as a computer crime, both Class A misdemeanors. A criminal complaint filed earlier this spring alleges Colden secretly tampered with the district's computer network to gain unauthorized access to employee emails and other confidential information.
The alleged crimes occurred during the 2012-2013 school year. The district fired Colden in May 2013.
Tuesday's preliminary hearing dealt only with the felony theft charge against Colden. A sergeant with the Albany Police Department testified on the investigation of the case.
Timothy Burns, Colden's attorney, argued that Colden was still under contract with the district in June 2013 when police executed a search warrant on his home for district-owned computers and other electronics - some of which Colden was still in the process of returning, Burns suggested.
Earlier on the day of the search, Burns said an employee with the district delivered Colden's work desk to his home.
Burns also confronted the Albany investigator about how some items in Colden's home were identified as district property. A shop vac Colden allegedly stole "could be any shop vac," Burns said.
"This is pure conjecture, your Honor," he concluded. "I don't think there's enough to bind this over."
But District Attorney Gary Luhman argued the items were all reported as stolen by the district.
During an hour-plus of painstaking questioning, Det. Sgt. Robert Ritter testified to specific serial numbers and matching descriptions between what the district reported missing and what police found in Colden's home.
Judge Thomas Vale ruled the case has enough evidence to support probable cause that a felony took place. An arraignment is set for June 18.
Gregory J. Colden, 56, Monroe, faces a Class I felony alleging he helped himself to district-owned electronics with a combined purchase-price value of about $4,300 and kept them at his home in the 2200 block of 12th Avenue.
He also faces two counts of modifying and possessing data as a computer crime, both Class A misdemeanors. A criminal complaint filed earlier this spring alleges Colden secretly tampered with the district's computer network to gain unauthorized access to employee emails and other confidential information.
The alleged crimes occurred during the 2012-2013 school year. The district fired Colden in May 2013.
Tuesday's preliminary hearing dealt only with the felony theft charge against Colden. A sergeant with the Albany Police Department testified on the investigation of the case.
Timothy Burns, Colden's attorney, argued that Colden was still under contract with the district in June 2013 when police executed a search warrant on his home for district-owned computers and other electronics - some of which Colden was still in the process of returning, Burns suggested.
Earlier on the day of the search, Burns said an employee with the district delivered Colden's work desk to his home.
Burns also confronted the Albany investigator about how some items in Colden's home were identified as district property. A shop vac Colden allegedly stole "could be any shop vac," Burns said.
"This is pure conjecture, your Honor," he concluded. "I don't think there's enough to bind this over."
But District Attorney Gary Luhman argued the items were all reported as stolen by the district.
During an hour-plus of painstaking questioning, Det. Sgt. Robert Ritter testified to specific serial numbers and matching descriptions between what the district reported missing and what police found in Colden's home.
Judge Thomas Vale ruled the case has enough evidence to support probable cause that a felony took place. An arraignment is set for June 18.