According to UR Security Investigator Daniel Lafferty, in three separate incidents, residents on the fifth, sixth and eighth floors of Valentine Tower reported that an unidentified suspect entered their rooms and stole property.
The first incident is reported to have occurred between 5 and 8 p.m. on Sept. 12. The victim reports a Dell laptop, hand-held Playstation console and watch were stolen.
The second occurrence was between 6:40 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 17. The victim reported that two MacBook Pro laptops, a PSP game system and a small were TV stolen.
The third incident occurred between Sept. 22 at 5:55 p.m. and Sept. 23 at 1:48 a.m. In this incident, a resident’s laptop computer was stolen.
The resident further revealed that between Sept. 14-21, someone entered his room and stole a 19-inch TV, which to this point he had not notified Security about.
Neither room showed any signs of forced entry. One resident reported his suite and room door were unlocked, the second said that the suite door was unlocked but the room door was locked and the third said that his room door was unlocked but the outer suite door was secured.
Suspect steals from sleeping victims
A student residing in Tiernan Hall reported that between 3 and 8:15 a.m. on Sept. 21, an unidentified suspect entered her room while she slept and stole several items from her room, according to Lafferty.
Items stolen include her jewelry, a Dell computer, $300, a credit card and three passports. The victim was uncertain if her door was secured or not and discovered the theft when she woke in the morning.
A police report was filed. In another incident in Tiernan reported that at 4:24 a.m., two students reported that an unidentified suspect slowly starting to open the door to the room.
One of the students stated he chased the suspect down the hall and grabbed him. The suspect is reported to have swung at the student and missed, after which he fled out the building towards Wilson Blvd. The student returned to the room and Security was notified. The room door was closed but unlocked.
Although it is likely the two events are connected, investigators are working to link the two together and try to identify the suspect. Residents are encouraged to notify Security immediately if they encounter strangers in the residence halls and to keep their room doors secured at all times.
Eastman professor’s office raided
Between Sept. 10 at 8 a.m. and Sept. 16 at 2 p.m., an unidentified suspect entered a professor’s office in the Eastman School Annex and stole $100 and a digital camera.
According to Lafferty, the camera was last seen on Sept. 10 when it was returned to the professor after being used by a graduate student. No signs of forced entry into the office were noted by the officer. Presently, no police report has been filed.
Information provided by UR Security.
Schneier is a member of the class of 2011.
