HUDS’ Cabot Store Burglarized

A break-in at Harvard University Dining Service’s (HUDS) new Cabot House convenience store’s storeroom caused a loss of about two cases of soft drinks Sunday night.

The exact value of the overnight theft could not be determined, since drinks were selling so fast in the days before the break-in that employees lost track of the amount they had taken from the storeroom.

There were no signs of break-in attempts at the convenience store itself, which is located in the basement of Cabot E-entry and does not connect to the storeroom.

“I’m kind of glad it happened with so little taken,” said Mark Auterio, who was managing the store on the night of the incident. “This will give everyone an awareness about the store’s [security needs].”

A Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) staff member discovered the theft yesterday morning and called the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) at 6:28 a.m, HUPD spokesperson Peggy McNamara said. Auterio said he last checked the storeroom at 11 p.m. and later locked the store itself at 12:30 a.m.

According to Auterio, the convenience store staff had asked HUPD last week to start coming down to check on the store, which opened this year, but neither he nor McNamara knew if security guards had checked Sunday night.

Police currently have no leads in the case and do not know whether the perpetrators were connected to the University.

However, Cabot House Master James Ware wrote in an e-mail to house residents that “the nature of the incident makes it possible, at least, that members of the Harvard community were involved.”

In a separate e-mail to The Crimson, Ware added that there have been no other recent incidents of crime at Cabot House.

McNamara said the door’s lock, which has already been replaced, appeared to have been forced in.

The HUDS convenience store itself is secured by more than one lock and is also well-lit, unlike the storeroom, Auterio said.

The storeroom holds about $100 worth of merchandise, although nowhere near that amount was taken.

Despite the theft, the convenience store will remain open on its regular schedule from 6 p.m. to midnight, Auterio said. He said students have requested that HUDS extend the store’s hours to 2 a.m., a move which might prevent future break-ins.

In a likely unrelated incident, McNamara said that HUPD was investigating two larcenies at Pforzheimer House over the weekend in which a purse and cash were stolen. Police have no leads on the Pforzheimer thefts either, which occurred at a University-authorized party.