Two laptop thieves apprehended on Foss Hill By Katharine Hall News Editor Late Saturday night, Public Safety officers arrested a non-University person on Foss Hill after the officers spotted him with two student laptops. This is the first arrest made in connection to the large number of laptop thefts this semester and is likely a result of Public Safety’s recent efforts in combating the theft problem. “We went into this weekend knowing that the pattern was weekends,” said Maryann Wiggin, director of Public Safety. According to Wiggin, at 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, Public Safety Officers Denis Kacy and Steven LaBella observed two males – both wearing backpacks – looking into Foss Hill dorm windows. The officers followed the suspects to another area of Foss Hill and watched as one of them produced a laptop from his backpack and turned it on. The officers then approached the suspects and determined that they were not affiliated with the University. Upon examining the computer screens, it became clear to Kacy and LaBella that the laptops were student-owned. “[We] praise the two Public Safety officers, Officers Kacy and LaBella, for their initially spotting and subsequently locating the two males involved in these thefts,” Wiggin said. The officers searched the suspects’ car and found information connecting them to thefts at two other universities in Connecticut, according to Wiggin. Director of University Communications Justin Harmon identified the two schools as Trinity College and the University of Hartford. Campus police at both institutions were notified of the arrest. According to Wiggin, Lieutenant Joseph Fortier coordinated the arrest and the response to the incident with Middletown Police Department (MPD). Sergeant Rick Siena was a member of the MPD team that responded. The two suspects were transported to the police station by MPD officers. The adult was charged with two counts of burglary in the third degree, two counts of larceny in the third degree and risk of injury to a minor. The other individual was not arrested or charged due to limitations on the treatment of minors, as mandated by Connecticut state law. According to Wiggin, the adult suspect also confessed to committing a number of other burglaries and larcenies on the Wesleyan campus, but said that he has sold all of the stolen computers. His court date is set for Oct. 21, and the Middletown Police Dept. is working on an arrest warrant for his previous thefts. The laptops belonged to two students, who were not named by Public Safety. Neither student was aware that their computer was missing. Wiggin said that there have been a total of 34 thefts from residence halls since the beginning of the school year. Of this total, 21 have been computers and 13 have involved other items such as credit cards, wallets and cell phones. In addition, 12 bikes have been taken. Wiggin noted that the individual arrested has been associated only with laptop theft. The Saturday night arrest marked the first of the thieves caught, but 14 individuals not affiliated with the University have been arrested this semester for trespassing. “A number of people that we’ve stopped have arrest records,” Wiggin said. Public Safety has emphasized patrols this semester, including those with plain-clothes officers and has also worked closely with Middletown Police. “All of Public Safety has worked very hard in trying to determine who is responsible for all of the thefts and trying to identify suspicious people on campus,” Wiggin said. Wiggin warns that despite the arrest Saturday night, the risk of theft is still present. “We continue to have unattended items stolen from parties and the library and the Campus Center,” she said. “We can’t let our guard down at this point.”

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