.More than $60,000 worth of equipment taken from Moos Tower

Expensive equipment belonging to the University’s Dental Clinic was taken from the ninth floor of Moos Tower in two recent thefts, according to a University police report.

Rose Malkovich, the clinic’s supervisor, said the ultrasonic equipment was stolen from a locked storage closet on two dates: March 24 and April 17.

The equipment would cost more than $60,000 to replace if the University had to pay retail value for it, she said.

Many different departments in the building have access to that storage closet, she said.

Because the equipment is used, it might be hard to resell, she said. But she is keeping her eye on Craigslist and eBay in case it shows up.

Three convertibles broken into on campus on same day

Three convertibles owned by University employees and parked in University parking ramps had their tops slashed last Monday, sometime between 8:15 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., according to University police reports.

The cars weren’t parked in the same building.

Jeff Derby, a chemical engineering and material science professor, had parked his car on the fourth floor of the Washington Avenue Ramp.

When he went to his car after working, he noticed insulation outside his passenger’s side door, from the inside of his convertible top.

There was a footprint on the door and a faint hand print left in the dust on the top, he said, and it looked as if someone climbed on the door and slashed the top to get inside.

Nothing was taken, but Derby said he recently received the not-so-cheap estimate to fix the convertible top – it will cost $7,600.

Derby’s mechanic said had the vandal weighed more, the roof’s frame could’ve bent, likely costing more than $10,000 to repair.

“I’ve been parking in the ramp every day for 15 years, and I’ve never had anything happen,” Derby said. “That was a shock.”

Pamela Johnson, a director at the University children’s hospital, parked her car on the fifth floor of the Oak Street Ramp last Monday.

She didn’t notice any damage to the car until she climbed inside and started the car.

“When I turned the car on, the information screen said my alarm had been engaged,” she said. “I turned around and looked and I noticed there was a slash in the roof.”

Her prescription glasses, 20 CDs and jewelry were taken, she said.

“The two pieces of jewelry weren’t worth too much, but they belonged to my parents who are now deceased,” she said. “That’s what hurts the most.”

The convertible top, she said, will cost her $5,000 to repair, excluding the cost of labor.

There was only one piece of evidence left at the scene that might implicate a suspect: a black running glove left under the passenger-side door handle, Johnson said.

Another black glove was found inside a different convertible in the University Avenue Ramp. As was the case with Johnson’s theft, the glove found at the scene didn’t belong to the car owner.

A backpack with music and food inside, as well as 70 CDs, was taken from the car, according to the police report.

University police Deputy Chief Steve Johnson said the vandal’s technique for breaking into the cars looks similar, but he can’t confirm it was the same person behind all three crimes.

“They sound similar, but before we can say positively they’re related we’d need some evidence to link them,” he said.