Burglars Strike Cabot Again; One Laptop Recovered

After a wave of burglaries hit the Quad last week, Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) officers stopped three suspects early Sunday morning and recovered one stolen laptop, according to HUPD spokesperson Steven G. Catalano.

In addition, late Saturday night, burglars struck Cabot House and stole two laptops—the fifth Quad theft in six days.

Officers responded to a call at 1:25 a.m. from a witness who reported two people suspiciously concealing a laptop as they walked by Mass. Ave. and Shepard Street, three blocks from the Quad, Catalano said.

Officers stopped the two suspects and determined they were not Harvard students and that they were not in possession of the computer.

The witness then pointed out where the suspects had discarded the computer.

Catalano said the suspects, both 17, denied stealing the computer and claimed they had seen it on the ground and subsequently decided to take it.

At the same time, the officers on the scene received a call two Cabot House residents reporting two stolen laptops.

Cabot House Master Jay M. Harris wrote in an e-mail to the House list that the latest burglary took place in Briggs Hall.

The victims in that theft described two suspicious individuals who had been at a party in their room.

Their descriptions matched those of the suspects whom the HUPD officers were questioning, so an officer brought the victims to the scene to determine whether those suspects had been seen in the victims’ room.

The victims said they couldn’t tell if those suspects had been in their room. The suspects were released and the laptop was returned to its owner.

Catalano said HUPD has not determined whether they will charge the two suspects with possession of stolen property.

HUPD officers questioned another teenager who matched the victims’ description.

The victims couldn’t confirm if that individual was the culprit either, so HUPD released the individual.

But, he added, it is unlikely that these burglaries are related to last week’s, although they occurred in the same area.“In 2002, there were 694 thefts,” Catalano said. “There’s really no way to start connecting them. Unfortunately, we’re going to have hundreds more thefts when people leave their property unattended or their doors unlocked.”

This most recent burglary may have occurred because a few outsiders gained access to a House party, according to Harris.

“The lock on the front door of the suite was taped by residents, presumably to let party-goers enter, so the door was not locked when the intruders happened upon it,” Harris wrote in his e-mail to the House list.

Catalano said at least two of last week’s four burglaries occurred when suite doors were unlocked.

Harris said it’s hard to gauge how Cabot residents are responding to the fifth burglary this week, but added he hopes that students will remain aware of their personal safety.

“It’s a pain to open the doors every time when people knock but you see what happens when they don’t,” he said. “My sense is that they still aren’t taking security issues seriously enough.”

—Staff writer Hana R. Alberts can be reached at alberts@fas.harvard.edu.