On 9/17/2016 the UMass Police Department received two reports of crimes that took place overnight from 9/16 - 9/17 in the parking lots along Orchard Hill Drive.
One vehicle, which had been parked in Lot 49 by Chadbourne/Greenough in the evening hours of 9/16, had been accessed through a partially open window; a spare key kept inside allowed the suspect(s) to start the vehicle and drive it away. The vehicle was discovered missing on 9/17, and was soon after located in a nearby parking lot.
The second vehicle had been parked in Lot 49 north of Baker Hall at approximately 10:00pm on 9/16. On 9/17 the owner discovered that it had been entered through an unlocked door and that items inside, including a laptop computer, had been stolen.
Anyone with information regarding these crimes is encouraged to contact Officer David Ortiz of UMPD at (413) 545-2121, the anonymous tip line at (413) 577-TIPS (8477) or by using the UMPD anonymous witness form at: https://www.umass.edu/umpd/anonymous-witness-form.
While the responsibility for criminal behavior rests solely with the perpetrator(s), UMPD encourages our community to take the following precautions to prevent similar crimes:
- LOCK YOUR VEHICLE. Do not leave your vehicle unlocked while parked, even if only for a few minutes. Be sure to check your doors, windows, and trunk to make sure they are secure before you leave the area.
- Do not leave valuables in your vehicle; if you must leave items in your vehicle, do not leave them in places where they are plainly visible.
- Register the valuables that you bring on-campus with UMPD's Project Protect. For more information please see https://www.umass.edu/umpd/project-protect .
Posted:
Sep 18, 2016, 3:43 pm
Last Updated:
Sep 18, 2016, 4:41 pm
