HUPD Releases Photograph Of Greenough Theft Suspect

The Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) released a photo yesterday of a young man whom they suspect was involved in a recent string of thefts and vandalism in Greenough Hall.

"We're looking for an ID on the picture because we feel pretty certain this was one of the people involved," said HUPD Detective Paul G. Westlund.

HUPD is asking the Harvard community to help identify the man in the picture and notify police if they recognize him so he can be questioned.

According to Westlund, the young man depicted in the picture withdrew "a sizable sum of money" from an ATM on Mass. Ave. using a ATM card stolen from a Greenough resident.

As the youth in the photo allegedly withdrew the money last Friday night, a camera with in the ATM machine took a series of pictures which the HUPD obtained from the bank this week.

The pictures depict a white male wearing a jacket with Harvard and Reebok logos and a U. Mass. hat.

Westlund said yesterday that police are not certain that the individual in the picture is a Harvard student or if he is directly responsible for the robberies and vandalism which have recently plagued Greenough.

Obtaining the photos was the HUPD's first major break in the investigation of three recent robberies in Greenough.

The pictures were taken early in the morning on Feb. 14, shortly after a female first-year's wallet was stolen and her Greenough common room was vandalized on Feb 13.

On a separate occasion, vandals entered Greenough on Feb. 20 and stole about $450 worth of personal items from another Greenough resident's room.

T. Timothy Wang '00 said a watch, a Walkman and an electronic organizer were stolen from his room at about 1 a.m. on Thursday when Wang went across the hall to visit friends and left his door unlocked.

That same evening, vandals struck the female first-year's room again, taking a Walkman and tossing a cassette tape into a bowl of water.

Police are uncertain whether any of these incidents are related.

Jared S. White '00, a Greenough resident, said he thinks he might have seen the thief.

Around 1 a.m. he heard a light knock on his door, but by the time he answered, the person was hurrying down the stairs. White said he only saw the man from the back, describing him as 5 feet 10 inches with dark curly hair.