UNC freshman Andrew Marcum, 18, was charged with two counts of felony larceny and one count of attempted felony larceny.
The larcenies occurred at Morehead Laboratories on Oct. 1 and the Undergraduate Library on Oct. 3.
The attempted larceny took place in Davis Library on Nov. 8, but in this case, the victim confronted Marcum, causing him to leave the laptop and flee the scene. The Davis victim provided details for a composite sketch that matched surveillance pictures taken in the Undergrad on Oct. 3.
Students who knew Marcum identified him as the suspect to University police after seeing the sketch accompanying an article in The Daily Tar Heel on Wednesday, said Capt. Mark McIntyre.
"The biggest thing that helped us was (the DTH) running the picture," he said.
The students gave specific details that described Marcum's exact appearance and clothing and said they knew where he lived. Officers confronted Marcum at his residence, 314 Craige North Residence Hall, Wednesday afternoon.
Marcum then consented, with little resistance, to a search of his room by police officers, McIntyre said.
The officers found two laptops that matched those stolen from Morehead Labs and the Undergrad. They also retrieved clothing that matched the picture taken in the Undergrad, he said.
An arrest was not made at that time because the officers were scheduled to work the men's basketball exhibition game against Team Nike, forcing them to leave Marcum's residence.
