State worker sentenced to 12 years

A former state worker who pleaded guilty to using his state position to harass his ex-wife and purchase computers for personal use was sentenced to 12 years in prison this week.

Brian Hunt, 37, pleaded guilty to the charges of burglary and theft in March.

Hunt, a Department of Technology employee, created key cards and entered the Bryan Building after hours on 19 occasions in 2008 to obtain information on his estranged wife who worked there, install spyware on her computer and erase messages he left on her work phone in violation of a restraining order.

At the time, he was responsible for overseeing key card databases for numerous state buildings.

Hunt also purchased five Dell computers using state funds, gave four to family members and sold the fifth on eBay, according to the Attorney General's office.

District Judge Jim Wilson sentenced Hunt to 36 to 100 months for burglary plus a consecutive term of 18 to 48 months for theft, according to Edie Cartwright, a spokeswoman for Nevada's Attorney General.