MICHIGAN COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITYEcho Online :: News :: Campus BlotterCampus Blotter


By Carl Thuringer / Staff Writer
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2005


Feb. 13 – Late in the afternoon an officer was dispatched to the fourth floor of Goddard Hall regarding a stolen laptop computer, according to police reports. The officer met with the female resident and victim, who explained that she had left the room at noon and that only her roommate was home. When she returned that evening, her computer was gone. The roommate stated that she left the room at about 2 p.m. to get her laundry, closing the door but not locking it. Since she was unable to provide model or serial numbers to the Department of Public Safety, the case is closed due to a lack of information.

Feb. 14 – At mid-afternoon a report came to DPS concerning AirSoft pellet guns that were confiscated. When an officer arrived, the ACD of Best Hall and the RO who had seized the toy weapons met with him, explaining the situation. The RA had encountered two residents in an argument, one threatening violence against the other when he did not cease firing the plastic pellets at him after their shootout “game” had concluded.

The RA confiscated one gun modeled after a rifle and two pistols after the dispute was broken up. The reporting officer then went to the room of the resident who was in possession of the gun and confiscated ammunition for the guns. Residents were advised that they could retrieve the guns from the DPS office during daytime hours and take them off campus.

Feb. 15 – At midnight on the second floor of Walton Hall, a police officer responded to a larceny report called in only minutes before. The victim reported that two men wearing masks and black clothing entered his unlocked room and took his computer. He described their manner as threatening, one ordering him to “sit down and shut up” as they entered the room.

One of the men then watched the door and peephole while the other unhooked and hefted the CPU. With the computer in hand, they both left quickly and headed down the hall. At this point the victim decided to follow the men, pursuing them cautiously down the stairwell. He thought he heard a door shut, but when he checked outside, they were nowhere to be found.

The reporting officers immediately set up a perimeter and checked the Eateries and first-floor rooms for anybody matching the description of the suspects. ICT was also notified of the theft and reported that the computer was on the network until the time of the incident and had not been reconnected since. Reviewed security footage yielded no evidence of the two men exiting the building via the stairwell door. The case is currently closed.

Feb. 16 – A reporting officer was on the ground floor of Walton Hall following up on another incident when he heard what sounded like bottles clanging together inside a room. The door was answered by the resident of the room and his suitemate, who invited the officer in. After observing several cans of Natural Ice beer on the table and towels stuffed behind the door, the officer went on to question the pair, asking if they had been drinking and smoking marijuana. Both admitted to drinking, but the resident’s suitemate denied the accusation of smoking, to which his friend admitted. During a subsequent search of the room, the resident turned over a bag of marijuana and was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. They were both underage and were each charged with a count of minor in possession.