Police have yet to apprehend the perpetrator of a reported theft that took place at Theta Chi Saturday night. During a small gathering at the fraternity house on 100 Packard Ave., an unidentified man entered the residence and stole over $2,000 worth of student belongings.
According to Tufts University Police Department Captain Mark Keith, the suspect, dressed in an oversized coat, entered the fraternity while approximately 20 brothers were in the building. Although several members reported seeing the man, no one tried to identify him or to call the police.
Based on the fraternity members' accounts, the suspect likely escaped between 2:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. with personal belongings of three brothers.
The fraternity brothers should have reacted when they first spotted the stranger in their house, Keith said. In general, he added, the fraternity should increase its security measures.
"The fact that many of the fraternity houses are not secured properly has been an ongoing issue for years," said Keith. "They need to take some steps to correct that."
In the wake of the theft, Theta Chi President Brett Kobelin is urging his brothers to take house security more seriously.
"We're going to make sure that if we're having people over, if there are more than just brothers here, that the doors are locked at all times. At any gathering that is not a party, we're actually going to make sure anyone coming in the door can be vouched for by a brother."
According to Keith, this weekend's incident was not connected to the burglary that occurred at DTD over winter break, when a man stole $8,000 worth of property while the brothers slept.
The items stolen from Theta Chi on Saturday included a laptop, a PlayStation2 system with a number of games, and three leather jackets, one of which had a cell phone in the coat pocket. The students estimated the items' worth at more than $2,000.
JR Cruz, whose room is located on the third floor of the fraternity, had his $400 PlayStation2 system stolen. Cruz said that that while he locked his bedroom door, the door to a common room with access to his bedroom was left open. Cruz did not notice that his video game system was missing until 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Following the theft, Cruz said that he and his brothers should look for ways to avoid future incidents.
"We could have been more stringent on who we let in," Cruz said. "Usually if someone is in the house it's someone's friend. We tend to take it for granted and we should lock our doors."
According to Keith, robberies are not a common occurrence on campus. This year, he said, "there may have been a few isolated incidents, but this one was so noticeable because so many things were taken."
