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Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Charles Timothy Wyland, 44, an IT Specialist at UF, was arrested yesterday and charged with stealing 10 new computers from UF and selling them online.
According to the University of Florida Police Department Officer who investigated the case, Wyland was one of four people with access to the storage room where the computers were kept in Walker Hall and was not authorized to take them from the building. The computers were reportedly stolen on July 8.
The officer interviewed Wyland on September 6 and reported that Wyland said his accounts had been hacked a month ago, but the officer noted that the eBay and Facebook Marketplace listings had been created two months before the interview.
The officer also noted that the Nike slides worn by Wyland during the interview could be seen in the background in the pictures for the listings to sell the computers. Wyland allegedly listed new Dell OptiPlex 7070 computers for $350 and new Dell OptiPlex 7020 computers for $850.
A subpoena to Meta Platforms reportedly found that the phone number for the Facebook Marketplace account matched Wyland’s number, and the eBay account was also reportedly found to be owned by Wyland.
Wyland has been charged with 10 counts of grand theft and six counts of dealing in stolen property over the internet (some sales reportedly involved multiple computers). He has no criminal convictions; he was arrested in 2023 for domestic battery, but the charge was later dropped.
A second sworn complaint has been filed against Wyland, but he has not yet been booked on those charges. That report states that Wyland’s eBay account showed 25 listings for property belonging to UF; the cost of the property reportedly exceeds $49,000. That sworn complaint lists 34 counts of grand theft, two counts of petit theft, and 25 counts of dealing in stolen property over the internet.
Judge Donna Keim set bail on the original 16 charges at $30,000, the amount set by Judge William Davis in a warrant for Wyland’s arrest.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
