‘Tis the Season for Holiday Robberies

By Amanda Hickey
News Editor

With the holiday season comes good spirits, charity, presents and robberies.

From Nov. 8-Nov. 20, there were four robberies on campus ranging from dorm rooms to vehicles and electronics to money.

Detective Ed Locklear works to solve cases around campus, including the recent thefts.

A projector was stolen from the Oxendine building.

"A professor used it at 5 p.m. in his last class and the next morning the professor went in and it was gone," said Detective Ed Locklear of Campus Police.

Normally when classroom items are stolen, they are pulled from the wall. But, the projector was unscrewed and unplugged properly.

The area was dusted for fingerprints but nothing was found.

Theft in West Hall

An X-box, DVDs and a University laptop were stolen from a room in West Hall.

The students left their room for a couple minutes. They said that they were gone for no more than 20 minutes, said Locklear.

"We traced the IP address [on the laptop] and so far it hasn't been used," said Locklear. "The DVDs were found in the bathroom a few minutes later. It became apparent that the person stole the items, then went to the bathroom and sorted out what they wanted," continued Locklear.

Preventive Measures

The items have yet to be found, but Locklear has been checking the pawnshops regularly in order to prevent them being sold. So far, he hasn’t seen them.

Locklear has received calls about other robberies. In the apartments, be careful of people coming to the door saying they are looking for someone then asking to use the phone. The people will notice what is in the apartment, offer money for the item, and when turned down will simply pick it up and walk out.

A victim picked the suspect out of a lineup and a warrant is pending. The suspect was charged for the same crime last year.

Locklear has some tips to prevent theft of property.

“Make sure you lock your doors and leave your property somewhere secure,” said Locklear.