Local Arrested for House Break-Ins

The Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) arrested 19-year-old Boston resident Peter Houle Wednesday for thefts in Lowell House's dining hall and Eliot House and attempted theft in Mather House's dining hall.

"We received a report from the manager of Dining Services at Mather that there was a man in his office going through the top drawer of his desk," said Sergeant James McCarthy of HUPD. The drawer contained Harvard Dining Services money. While the manager was on the phone with HUPD, Houle threatened him with a knife, McCarthy said.

HUPD arrived on the scene and apprehended Houle as he was running across the Mather courtyard.

Earlier in the day, Houle had stolen money from a backpack left in the Lowell dining hall and graduation cards sent to seniors in Eliot, according to McCarthy.

Houle has a history with HUPD. He was arrested at the Medical School earlier in the year for bike larceny.

HUPD took Houle to the Cambridge jail where he was awaiting bail.

McCarthy said HUPD will step up security in the next few days as students move out of their dorms. He said theft is a particular threat at this time of year when students prop doors open to drag boxes out of their dorms.