Zachary Prentice, 28, a member of a cleaning facility team at Keene State College, has been arrested Saturday for stealing money collected from book fines, library dues and late book returns from a jar at the college library.
His arrest follows a police investigation spanning a couple of months after receiving complaints about missing money from the jar, which is usually located on the library counter where students drop money for late book returns.
Prentice was hired during the same time when officials began noticing someone stealing money from the fine collection box.
"Due to the high volume of people who had access to the library, it was impossible to identify a suspect," Keene Police Sgt. Mike Kopcha, told the Union Leader.
Kopcha said that the most recent theft occurred during the spring break and only the cleaning crew from Unico accessed the library as students were on a vacation. This was also verified by the security card swipes.
Moreover, Prentice was not assigned any work regarding the cleaning of the library the day of the theft, but still used his security card to access the library as shown by the swipes' records.
Kopcha said that as a result, a warrant was issued for Prentice.
He was arrested from his home on Pearl Street, Saturday evening, and charged with four counts of misdemeanor theft of about $200, taken from the jar over a couple of months.
Prentice appeared at the 8th District Court in Keene, Monday, to face the charges.
