Campus Police arrested the man they believe may have committedall 31 thefts from the men's locker room of the Student Recreationand Fitness Center this year.
Police have only charged George Mickey, Jr. with two of thethefts.
However, "you would have a hard time convincing" campus policethat Mickey was not responsible for all of the crimes, said DerekMyers, associate director of Public Safety.
Because they have not met the legal burden of proof in allcases, police cannot charge him with each of the crimes theybelieve he committed.
There have been no thefts from the building since the arrest.This year, there was a theft or two almost every week, causing a300 percent increase in locker room thefts, compared with the lastsix months of 2002.
Mickey, who is not a student, was arrested June 27 while in thefacility after one of the victims pointed him out to police. Thevictim said he had originally seen Mickey loitering suspiciouslyabout the locker room when the victim had his property taken inMay.
Police are unsure of how Mickey got into the building, butsuspect that he snuck in with a camp group when police caughthim.
Jim Vest, director of Campus Recreation, said they areinvestigating how he got into the building on other occasions.
Campus Recreation and Intramural Services has had no otherproblems with people sneaking into the center, Vest said, becausethere are alarms and cameras on all the doors.
"It is secure as it has ever been," Vest said.
Myers said Mickey, 27, had been on a "one-man crime spree."
When police arrested Mickey, he was driving a stolen SUV. Policealso charged him with multiple burglaries from Richardson Towers,including one incident where someone took property from the roomsof 13 children here for a camp.
Mickey told police that he had nothing to do with the thefts andsaid that the SUV and the stolen property inside were those of afriend.
These crimes are just a part of the long list of charges placedagainst Mickey since 1995. Other charges include drug possession,evading arrest and panhandling.
Campus police attempted to stem the tide of thefts by placingofficers at the center, but Myers said there wasn't enough manpowerto leave them down there all the time.
On a few occasions, thefts occurred just after the officers hadleft, Myers said.
To help police, students and employees should point out anysuspicious people, Myers said. The police should decide whether theperson has a legitimate reason for being there, he added.
Myers also suggests using a lock as a way to cut down on lockerroom thefts.
Many of the victims did not even have one in place, Myers said.He suggested using one, because a criminal "will take the path ofleast resistance."
Surveillance cameras are located at each locker room entrance,but Myers said they have been less of a deterrent than in otherplaces because they can't see what's actually going on in thelocker room.
Myers said that police would go back and look when they got atheft report, but were not able to pinpoint Mickey at the time.
As additional help, said Jim Vest, officials plan to install newlockers.
