(Stillwater, Okla.) A former employee of the T-Mobile store in Stillwater who admitted embezzling about 40 phones has been ordered to report to the Payne County Jail on Sept. 14 to serve a 30-day sentence after which he must begin paying $28,309 in restitution.
Justin Dean Brown, 26, of Stillwater, will be on probation for four years and 11 months on his release from jail, for which he must pay the cost of his incarceration, under District Judge Phillip Corley’s order last week.
When store manager J. Lang conducted an audit including September through December 2013, “he learned the business was missing 38 electronic devices which included cell phones and electronic notebooks,” worth $23,323., Stillwater Police Detective Sgt. Jeff Watts wrote in an affidavit.
“J. stated after learning of the possible theft of cell phones by Justin, he checked Craigslist to see if any of the missing phones were listed for sale.
“J. stated many of the phones — which were of the same type of phones stolen from the store — were listed on Craigslist for sale,” an affidavit said.
An employee of T-Mobile “looked at some of the photos and told J. he recognized the furniture in the background of the photos as being furniture from Justin’s living room and his dining room,” the affidavit said.
On Jan. 7, 2014, the detective sergeant met with Brown in the Stillwater police department lobby, the affidavit said.
“During my conversation with Justin, he admitted he was employed at T-Mobile since January 2013. He stated during the month of November (2013), he began taking phones from the business without paying for them,” Watts wrote in his affidavit.
“Justin stated he was selling the phones on Craigslist and using the money to buy Christmas presents. Justin had in his possession four of the stolen cell phones and he turned them over to me,” Watts wrote in his affidavit.
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