Laundry thefts prompt UPD, Res Life warnings

A string of laundry thefts at Prairie Crossing Apartments has lead to a heightened sense of alert for residents, RAs and campus police patrolling the residential building.

The trouble began when The East Texan's entertainment editor Chancellor Mills reported his clothes were stolen to the University Police Department Sept. 20. A few weeks ago, Mills was also involved in reporting a suspicious person inside the Prairie Crossing laundry room to RAs, but UPD was unable to determine if that person had anything to do with missing clothes. That same night, another resident reportedly had his clothes stolen, but did not immediately report it.

Since then, at least two more students have reported their clothes stolen from the laundry room. Resident Cody Vali reported his clothes had been stolen on Oct. 19, but his report came a week after the incident had occurred.

Last Sunday, Oct. 30, Christina Hall reported the theft of $186 worth of clothes. Lt. Jason Bone of UPD said while police are trying to pinpoint a suspect, finding stolen clothes is extremely difficult.

"Clothes are hard to track. It's not like they have a serial number on it, and there's probably ten thousand other ones [of the same type] within a two hundred mile radius," he said. "So, it's real hard to, even if you caught someone with those clothes, prove that they belong to someone else. Unless your mom wrote in your name with a laundry pen before you left home."

Associate Director of Residential Living and Learning Denise Golden, who is serving as an interim hall director for Prairie Crossing, said Res Life is aware of the situation and encouraging students to take precautionary measures.

"Signs have been posted that alert residents to the trend and encourage them to stay with their laundry – to bring books or music and remain in the laundry room," she said.

Bone said students reporting suspicious people and stolen clothes immediately would be a major help to UPD. Currently, no accurate description of a single potential suspect has been given to police, which makes the case more difficult.

"As soon as we think it's probably this person, we get more information that points somewhere way different," Bone said. "One thing I would recommend you do is, people always tell us after the fact ‘well, I saw someone earlier that looked like this.' It would be good if they would just go ahead and call us right then and there. You're going to know if they are in the Honors College or if they don't belong in the laundry room. If they would just call in on them right then, that would help immensely."

Prairie Crossing was initially built for private use and later bought by the university to house the Honors College, and security cameras within the winding halls of the building have not been in use since A&M-Commerce took full control. Golden said there are plans to bring back security cameras that might help in cases such as this.

"Wiring and cameras from the original system were removed from PC because its software made it incompatible with our current system," Golden said. "We are looking into adding security cameras, but are pushing this option as an added measure for many of our communities."

The door to the PC laundry room requires a student ID card-swipe for entry, but the door does not always close completely as residents go in and out. Bone said in one of the incidents, someone was using an ID, but he advised residents make sure the door locks before they leave.

"I don't know if it's gotten to the point where the whole town has found out it's easy to do free laundry at Prairie Crossing and everyone's coming in," he said. "My understanding is that door's supposed to stay locked, so it would help if people also made sure that door is locked when they leave."

Students or local residents with any information can report it to UPD by calling (903)886-5868.