By Emily Williams, Managing Editor
Miami University Police (MUPD) arrested a suspect Wednesday night in connection to burglaries reported at Tallawanda Hall.
Several students who live in the residence hall, which is part of the Heritage Commons complex, reported to MUPD that, between 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 22 and noon on Sunday, Nov. 27, an unknown person had stolen cash and valuables from their rooms.
After conducting an investigation, MUPD obtained a search warrant and searched the suspect's property Wednesday evening. The suspect was arrested and taken to the Butler County jail that night. MUPD filed charges against the suspect the following morning.
"It came down to some really good police work from our investigation staff," said MUPD Capt. Ben Spilman. "That work really paid off on Wednesday."
None of the students were home during the time of the burglaries, which occurred during the university's Thanksgiving break. A campus crime alert addressing the burglaries was sent by MUPD on Tuesday morning.
Sophomore Reid Rupp, who lives in Tallawanda Hall, said he searched his room after receiving the email alert about the thefts. Rupp discovered that his personal safe, which had been hidden in his closet, was missing. Although some of the other rooms had items out of place, Rupp said his room hadn't shown any obvious signs of the theft.
"They had put everything back perfectly," Rupp said.
Rupp, who went door-to-door in the hall to gather more information from other Tallawanda residents, said that most of the items that had been taken were small, like cash and watches, while the intruder left larger items like laptops and iPads behind.
From his conversations with other residents, Rupp said, he could tell other students share his concern about security in the hall, especially with the long winter break just a couple weeks away.
"We all feel pretty violated," Rupp said.
According to Spilman, the hall is secure and students should not be concerned about further break-ins.
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