Man pleads guilty to taking over Washtenaw County computers

ANN ARBOR (AP) — A man who was able to take over the Washtenaw County computer system with malware and other tricks has pleaded guilty in federal court.

Prosecutors say Konrads Voits got access to the county network earlier this year, including jail records, search warrant affidavits and personal information from more than 1,600 employees.

He admits altering an electronic record to try to get an inmate released early.

Washtenaw County spent more than $230,000 to fix the breach.

Voits, who lives in Ypsilanti Township, pleaded guilty Friday to damaging a protected computer, a federal crime. He could face seven years or more in prison on April 5. He's in jail without bond.

The FBI first encountered Voits in 2015 when he reported a false bomb threat.