The Minneapolis Police Department responded to several thefts near campus last week, while the University of Minnesota Police Department recorded few incidents of crime.
MPD responded to a call of a house burglary at Phi Sigma Kappa’s fraternity house early Saturday morning. The three juvenile male suspects ran from officers when they arrived around 2:30 a.m. People inside the fraternity house detained and identified the suspects for the officers. The suspects were arrested and are currently booked in the juvenile unit.
A 61-year-old man filed a report with MPD on Friday after having his camera stolen several days earlier. The victim said he was holding the camera at 615 Ontario St SE when a suspect snatched it from his hands and ran off.
Two University students reported damages and a theft from their vehicle on the night of March 27. The victims parked the car in the lot at 2001 University Ave SE, adjacent to Buffalo Wild Wings, around 7:45 p.m. When they returned an hour later, the rear window was broken and several items were missing. MPD could only retrieve a description of the suspect’s clothing from Buffalo Wild Wings’ surveillance footage.
A car parked outside Anytime Fitness at 2718 University Ave SE was broken into while the car owner was inside exercising Thursday around 6:30 p.m., according to an MPD police report. The suspect allegedly broke a car window and stole the woman’s purse containing credit cards. Fraudulent charges from Walgreens and the Holiday gas station were made on two of the stolen credit cards, totaling over $300.
MPD responded to another theft in Marcy-Holmes between 8:30 p.m. on Thursday night and 12:30 p.m. on Friday. When the victim went out to his car in the morning, he noticed several items missing. A bucket that had been used for loose change was empty and flipped over in the front seat. A jacket and a pair of sunglasses were also reported missing. The stolen sunglasses had been stored in an open center console and were visible from outside the car, which made it an easy target, UMPD Lieutenant Chuck Miner said.
“People leave valuables that are visible through windows and that’s what suspects are looking for. They want an easy target for stealing,” Miner said.
