Breach thief placed on pre-trial probation, must stay off Xbox Live
Justin May, the man accused of attempting to steal Atomic Games' unreleased title Breach during PAX East, was placed on pre-trial probation in Boston Municipal Court yesterday. Suffolk County District Attorney Press Secretary Jake Wark informed Joystiq that the conditions of the probation are that May "stay in school, not reoffend, stay off of Xbox Live web sites, and forfeit his computer, which was seized at the time of his arrest." If May follows the conditions, his case will be dismissed after 18 months. If not, he'll be "put back on track for trial."
May was arrested last March when he attempted to steal Breach from the PAX East show floor. He then skipped bail and eventually agreed to show up for court in May, with the latest hearing set for yesterday. We've contacted Atomic Games for comment on the outcome.
Update: Atomic Games' president Peter Tamte's statement after the break.
Tamte statement:
"Our request of the District Attorney was that they treat this case just as seriously as if Justin May had stolen some very expensive tangible goods. In other words, we requested that they not treat the theft of intellectual property any differently than they would the theft of tangible property. It's my understanding that the path they have taken with Justin May is consistent with this request, and the DA's course of action was heavily influenced by the fact that Mr. May was caught before his theft could cause any damage. Had he been able to post Breach on the Internet for download, and then been caught, he would likely end up serving time in jail."
