Spring Break
Theft
By: Teri Ruland
Issue date: 3/5/09 Section: News
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When a plain-clothed officer leaves the bicycle, another will survey the area nearby to see if the bicycle is taken.
"There are officers in plain clothes focusing on areas that the bikes have been stolen from. We're watching the bike racks for suspicious people and bikes that are being left unsecured," said Officer Nic Hammond of the UPD.
Students reported suspicious behavior around the engineering center on campus earlier in the week.
"People were walking slowly and taking a hard look at the bike racks," Costello said.
Police were able to apprehend two suspects near the bike racks.
"Both were seen on foot, one was apprehended on foot. The other was apprehended in a white car headed northbound toward Bryan from the direction of campus," Costello said.
Officers said they believed the suspect in the vehicle was involved in the suspicious activity.
"The suspect was stopped off Villa Maria in front of the Hastings. He denied having been on campus," he said.
Once the officers were certain the descriptions matched up, they brought the witnesses to the scene to identify the individual. One of the witnesses was fairly sure the individual was the one he witnessed on campus, while the other witness said the suspect was the person they saw on campus.
"The person had a criminal trespass warning for on campus. Since he was seen on campus, we called the county's attorney. He was arrested on two charges: driving while license invalid and the second charge was criminal trespassing," Costello said.
With a criminal trespass ticket, the individual is not allowed on campus except on legitimate business. Even then, an officer must be notified and decide on the validity of the business the individual has on campus.
A bike theft suspect was arrested Friday outside McInnis Hall.
"The suspect came out and took the bike without the owner's consent and was arrested," Hammond said.
After he left the area, he was stopped by officers and identified as a student. The student was charged with a Class B Misdemeanor and taken by a uniformed officer to the Brazos County Jail, where his bond was set at $2,000.
"This is something that we're going to keep doing," Hammond said.
Sgt. Allan Baron said there had been 96 bicycles stolen between Jan. 1 and Feb. 27, and the approximate value of all the bicycles stolen was $29,000.
"Unauthorized use of another's bicycle is against the law. And if they take that bike, they are at risk of being charged with theft," Baron said.
University police encouraged members of the community to continually report suspicious activity.
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