A 48-year-old Lincoln man arrested Thursday apparently needed a thinking cap to go with a stolen Think Pad.

His arrest culminated a burglary investigation that got some help from IBM’s customer service division.

The case started Sept. 13 with a burglary at a rural Lancaster County home. An IBM Think Pad laptop computer was stolen, said Lancaster County Sheriff’s Investigator Jeremy Schwarz. The computer was reported stolen to the company.

The new owner booted up the laptop. When he couldn’t make it work, he called IBM’s customer support staff for help. The caller even provided the computer’s serial number, which alerted staff that it had been stolen. The staff then notified local authorities, according to court records filed Friday.

Deputies served a search warrant Thursday at 322 A St. to look for the computer. Not only did they find the Think Pad, but they also recovered a .22-caliber derringer pocket pistol, which was stolen 16 years ago from Omaha, Schwarz said.

Because he had the pistol, deputies arrested Darrell Brown on suspicion of possessing stolen property. They continued their investigation Friday to determine if he can be charged with the Sept. 13 burglary.

As of Friday afternoon, he remained at the Lancaster County Jail but had not been charged with a crime.

Reach Joe Duggan at 473-7239 or jduggan@journalstar.com.