2008 Woodie Awards
Thefts cause headaches
With bikes stolen and cars broken into, DCS takes steps to heighten security
Josh Currie
Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: News
At 1:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Department of Campus Security (DCS) Officer Hernandez spotted two suspicious individuals in Lot B, adjacent to Laurie Auditorium, while on bike patrol. When he realized that one of the men was publicly urinating, he called for backup and apprehended the two individuals.
According to Rudolph Gonzalez, director of DCS, the individuals turned out to be notorious, professional car burglars. At the time of apprehension, the two men had in their possession all of the equipment necessary to break into vehicles, including a large set of different keys from most all major car makers, such as General Motors, Ford, Mazda and Toyota.
After their arrest, the two men finally admitted that they were in the process of breaking into a car. The two men were booked into jail according to Gonzalez.
This all comes after a recent rash of both car burglaries and bicycle thefts on the Trinity campus. According to Gonzalez, there have been 12 car burglaries and four bike thefts in the month of March alone.
After collaborating with law enforcement from the University of the Incarnate Word, St. Mary's University and the cities of Alamo Heights and Olmos Park, DCS was able to determine that there were two types of car burglarizing groups in the area. The more sophisticated type used tools to get into cars and had been seen primarily on upper campus; the other caste of car burglar utilized a smash-and-grab technique and has been localized on lower campus.
According to Gonzalez, DCS purposely increased police presence on lower campus, particularly in the Prassel Garage area after two burglaries there Monday. That day, a Physical Plant employee witnessed a 1998 or 1999 maroon Chevrolet Silverado extended cab pickup exiting Lot "V" right before the discovery of a vehicle break-in on the fourth floor of the garage.
"We are in the process of trying to get some special funding from the administration to allow us to have the officers working on an overtime basis down on lower campus," Gonzalez said.
According to Rudolph Gonzalez, director of DCS, the individuals turned out to be notorious, professional car burglars. At the time of apprehension, the two men had in their possession all of the equipment necessary to break into vehicles, including a large set of different keys from most all major car makers, such as General Motors, Ford, Mazda and Toyota.
After their arrest, the two men finally admitted that they were in the process of breaking into a car. The two men were booked into jail according to Gonzalez.
This all comes after a recent rash of both car burglaries and bicycle thefts on the Trinity campus. According to Gonzalez, there have been 12 car burglaries and four bike thefts in the month of March alone.
After collaborating with law enforcement from the University of the Incarnate Word, St. Mary's University and the cities of Alamo Heights and Olmos Park, DCS was able to determine that there were two types of car burglarizing groups in the area. The more sophisticated type used tools to get into cars and had been seen primarily on upper campus; the other caste of car burglar utilized a smash-and-grab technique and has been localized on lower campus.
According to Gonzalez, DCS purposely increased police presence on lower campus, particularly in the Prassel Garage area after two burglaries there Monday. That day, a Physical Plant employee witnessed a 1998 or 1999 maroon Chevrolet Silverado extended cab pickup exiting Lot "V" right before the discovery of a vehicle break-in on the fourth floor of the garage.
"We are in the process of trying to get some special funding from the administration to allow us to have the officers working on an overtime basis down on lower campus," Gonzalez said.
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