Three Honors College students have been arrested and charged this week in connection with an ongoing investigation of thefts from Texas A&M University-Commerce.
A&M-Commerce University Police Department (UPD) arrested 19-year-old roommates Andrew Russell Dahir and Joseph Cole Jaska from Prairie Crossing Apartments Monday, Sept. 14. Both Dahir and Jaska were charged with thefts ranging from $1,500-$20,000.
Dahir said he was not willing to make a comment at this time.
A third student, 19-year-old Caleb A. Slinkard, was arrested and taken into custody around 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 18 and charged with burglary of a building.
UPD is still looking at possible additional charges including engaging in organized criminal activity, a charge that, if added, would result in third-degree felonies for the students punishable by a 2-10-year prison sentence and a fine up to $10,000.
A fourth suspect not affiliated with the university is still being investigated.
It is estimated $26,000 in stolen property can be traced back to the students. UPD has been able to recover $19,000 of the stolen property, which would close the investigations of eight felony reports and two misdemeanors. UPD is looking at on-campus theft incidents dating back to December 2008.
All the students worked for the university in some capacity. Dahir, a former employee of technology services, was working for the Sam Rayburn Student Center at the time of the thefts. Jaska was a student worker for the psychology department, and Slinkard acted as a student worker for marketing communications and was campus life editor for The East Texan.
“They were able to kind of take advantage of the trust placed in them,” Jason Bone, crime information officer for UPD said. “It was an inside job that was thought about and they took advantage of the situations. I think we were shocked ourselves.”
The http://www.theeasttexan.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=3768b18d-5dca-49d4-915d-913c6422702b”>stolen items range from computers taken over the summer from Wathena Temple and the Journalism Building to various electronic equipment as well as a crystal lion statue valued at $2,800. Items were also stolen from both the new and old student centers on campus.
UPD is considering the group an organized crime ring.
“It started to me appearing very obvious that it was a group of people probably back in May,” Bone said. “There were very organized and well-thought out things that were going on.”
Some of the stolen items were in use by the students, while others were sold. Det. Sgt. Kyle Lowe, the lead investigator on the case, said anyone who may have purchased stolen equipment from the students should return the items immediately to UPD or risk charges for themselves.
“If they are caught, they will be put in jail for possession of stolen property,” Lowe said.
President of A&M-Commerce, Dr. Dan Jones, said the university will review the incidents and the school’s protocols to prevent these types of thefts from happening in the future.
“And we may review everything and find out we did everything right,” Jones said. “Sometimes you can’t prevent bad things from happening.”
Dean of Students Brian Nichols said he had no comment on the issue at this time, but he elaborated on judicial proceedings when students violate code of conduct guidelines. He said after police reports are sent to him, they are forwarded to judiciary officer Robert Dodson. Students are then told to come and schedule a meeting and present their side of the story, after which any investigation needed would take place and there would be a decision made regarding the student’s future at the university.
“We don’t like to make a decision until we have all sides of these sort of things,” Nichols said.
Randy Jolly, assistant vice president of marketing communications, worked closely with Slinkard and said he thought the world of him.
“We are extremely sad,” Jolly said. “He was a part of our team just like all other student workers. We gave him great responsibility and he betrayed that trust. He made a terrible mistake, but we hope the best for him.”
The image of the Honors College will likely suffer, but Bone was quick to point out the leadership Dr. Raymond Green, Dean of the Honors College, has provided.
“My opinion of Honors College has actually gone up after this incident,” Bone said. “I have been very impressed with the groundswell of information they provided. It’s nice to know that there are that many honest and ethical people out there that just stand up and go, ‘there’s something bad going on and I’m willing to talk about it.'”
Additional information gathered by Jared Watson, Megan Carey and James Bright