By Staff
Melissa Cason
A Russellville man was indicted for sabotaging computers at a local business.
Russellville Police Chief Chris Hargett said Alexander Bernard Higgins, 38, of 84 Ahs Ave. in Russellville, was charged with committing acts against a computer, and the charge was upheld by the Franklin County Grand Jury this month.
Hargett said Higgins allegedly pretended to service a computer at a local business in order to sabotage the system.
"Mr. Higgins had done some work for the business prior to the sabotage," Hargett said. "He apparently felt he was not paid was he was owed and went back to the business and sabotaged the system."
Hargett said the business was unable to utilize their debit machine due to the computer tampering, which caused them to lose business transactions for the day.
Franklin County District Attorney Joey Rushing said this charge is a Class C felony when the damage is more than $2,500.
"The business was able to show they lost more than $2,500 when taking into account the repairs and the loss of business for that day," Rushing said.
Rushing said his office takes these kinds of crime seriously especially in these tough economic times.
"In these economic times, it's tough enough for a business to be profitable," Rushing said. "Therefore, these types of crime are taken very seriously."
According to the Alabama Criminal Code, Class C felony convictions carry a sentence of one to 10 years in prison.