No brute force. No zero-day exploit. Just a sticky note and a moment of breathtaking moral flexibility.
Meeks was convicted of third-degree felony theft. He received 18 months of deferred adjudication (similar to probation) with 200 hours of community service, $2,400 in restitution to Ms. Vasquez (for the laptop, software, and lost work), and a mandatory "Digital Ethics" course.