A crime that happened at the South Lincoln Wal-mart is puzzling store employees and Lincoln Police. It was on the afternoon of January 15th in the store's electronics department.

LPD Officer Shane Winterbauer says, "Video shows the black male picking up an HP Pavilion laptop and looking it over a little bit. He leaves a short time later and eventually comes back with an accomplice."

The two return to the same laptop and somehow manage to open it without being noticed. Surveillance catches them in the act, but not before it's too late.

"Wal-mart employees discover that the black male removed the hard drive and the processing chip from the computer. He's seen placing these items in his coat pocket," said Winterbauer.

But just how important are the CPU and hard drive to the computer?

Chief Engineer of 10/11 News, Brent Haun, says, "The CPU is what runs the programs. Without this, the computer will do nothing. The hard drive is where everything is stored on the computer. Without that, the computer won't do anything."

The two pieces are worth $600, making it a total loss to the store.

Winterbauer says, "This is the first time that I've heard of this type of theft occurring."

Police are hoping the suspect photos and blurry images of the getaway car will help catch these laptop looters.

"Both parties were seen getting into an older model, dark-colored SUV. We don't have the make or model on this, and were seen driving away from the area," said Winterbauer.

Police say the suspect is a black male, 6', late 20's or early 30's, wearing a black Husker jacket with red and white stripes on the sleeves.

Police say his accomplice is a white male, early to mid 20's, with short brown hair, wearing all black.

If you have any information regarding this case, call Crimestoppers at 475-3600.