University of Memphis campus police had five cases of reported bicycle thefts at various locations across campus since the beginning of October.
The earliest case was of a bike theft at the Living Learning Complex. The victim, Nicholas Vannucci, reported his bike missing to campus police Oct. 8. He said he parked it Oct. 5 before discovering it missing Oct. 8. The police did find someone on tape stealing his bike, but because Vannucci could not recognize the person, the police could not do anything for him.
“When I went out to find it, it was gone,” Vannucci said. “I called the detective, and he said he would look over the security footage. And they saw the guy on tape steal my bicycle. Since I didn’t know him, they said there wasn’t much they could do.”
Vannucci also said he has had no further updates from campus police on his missing bike.
“I am at the point where I’ve just kind of given up,” Vannucci said. “You know, it is just a bike.”
Derek Myers, assistant chief of the U of M campus police, is asking for anyone who knows any information regarding these cases to contact campus police.
“The detectives have been working on these cases, which includes checking video of possible value,” Myers said. “We are trying to identify this person in connection with at least one of these thefts.”
The latest report occurred Oct. 21 outside of Johnson Hall. The victim, Manish Kasu, locked his bike to a rack on the north side of Johnson Hall while he attended an event across the street. Kasu said he thought campus police was helpful in his situation.
“I think they are doing their best,” Kasu said. “They called me again on Monday to take some particulars, and that’s the last time I heard from them.”
Kasu said campus police said they would be getting back with him later this week. He said the value of his bicycle is around $300.
Three other cases of missing bikes were reported throughout October at various locations on campus. Another victim said their bike was secured with a four-digit lock, and they left the bike at Wilder Tower on Oct. 11 before returning after midnight to find the bike missing. The victim described the bike as a black Cannondale and valued it at $500, and it can be distinguished by a broken bracket on the left foot pedal and is scratched up, according to a report they filed with campus police Oct. 12.
A victim whose bike was stole at the University Center said it was locked to the bike rack at the UC on Oct. 5, and they did not notice it missing until the following day. The victim did not report it until Oct. 18 and has no paperwork or serial numbers on the bike to verify the value.
Another victim of bike theft at the LLC said Oct. 19 they left their bike around noon to go to their room, and upon their return, they found their bike missing from the location. The victim said it was locked to a bike rack on the east side of the LLC, according to the report they filed with campus police.
If anyone has information regarding any of the reported thefts, Myers said to contact campus police through the LiveSafe app, by emailing police@memphis.edu or calling 901-678-4357 to ask for a detective.
An image from security camera footage shows a suspect in one of five bike thefts on campus in the past month.
