Police have arrested a Memorial Union employee after an investigation showed he may be connected to thousands of dollars worth of merchandise stolen from the University Book Store. Many of the items were intended for sale on an Internet auction service.

Kevin Carroll, custodian at the Memorial Union since 1992, was charged with burglary and seven counts of theft on Wednesday.

ISU Police received a call from a University Book Store employee Dec. 30 reporting the theft of items from the store, said ISU Police Capt. Gene Deisinger. Software, personal digital assistants, printer cartridges, sweatshirts and other miscellaneous merchandise had reportedly been stolen from the store while it was closed.

“He gained access illegally and essentially on or about Christmas Day just started carting stuff out of there,” Deisinger said.

Lynette Seymour, general manager of the University Book Store, said she was disappointed to find the items stolen.

“We were surprised and disappointed,” she said. “You like to think your workplace is a safe place.”

Some of the merchandise stolen was expensive and not common.

“There was some pretty unique software that is not readily available in the community,” Deisinger said. This merchandise was marked by the bookstore.

Seymour said two employees and their supervisor looked on the online auction service and found identical merchandise to the items stolen from their store. The items were listed by a man from Iowa.

“One of the things on the Web actually had a picture with our label on it,” Seymour said.

The employees called the ISU Police for a second time and shared the information.

“Our employees were just really on top of this,” Seymour said. “They need to be commended.”

Police investigated and determined the items were listed under Carroll’s account, Deisinger said.

Police obtained a warrant to search Carroll’s residence, 218 W. 9th St., and found several thousand dollars worth of merchandise, Deisinger said. More than $10,000 in University Book Store merchandise was recovered from Carroll’s residence, Deisinger said.

Police also noticed several other items identical to items reported missing by the Memorial Union as far back as three years ago in Carroll’s home.

Deisinger said Carroll began cooperating with police and surrendered items taken from the Memorial Union, including a coffee table Carroll was reportedly using as his own, a table and four chairs, a computer and printer, a boom box and glass vases.

About $5,000 worth of merchandise was recovered that had been stolen from the Memorial Union.

Deisinger said friends of Carroll also brought in gifts they had received from Carroll they suspected might be stolen.

Police were able to obtain a search warrant the same day the report of stolen items was made, he said. Police investigation of this case solved seven reported cases of theft from the Memorial Union.

Carroll is being held at the Story County Jail in Nevada on $51,825 bond.