Quad room hit by theft last week

A Quadrangle room was robbed of cash, 100 CDs and an expensive watch over spring break, according to University Police Captain John Richardson. The value of the stolen articles totaled approximately $2,000, Richardson said, adding that there were no signs of forced entry in the incident. College freshman Brian Cohen, whose room in the Coxe building of the Lower Quad was burglarized, said he discovered the theft when he returned Sunday from his vacation in Cancun, Mexico. Cohen explained that he had been careful to lock all of the room's windows and double-lock the door before he left. "When I came back, the door was only single-locked," he explained. "I went looking for some money and a watch that I had received as a Bar Mitzvah gift. They weren't where I had left them." Cohen added that his room appeared to have been ransacked. "All of my stuff had been ruffled through," he said. "One of the drawers under my bed had been completely broken apart." Cohen explained that that "the big stuff in the room" -- including a computer, stereo and TV -- were not stolen in the burglary. "I guess that they only took what they could fit into a backpack," he said. Cohen added that a hallmate said she thinks she may have heard the intruder enter the room. "A girl across the hall heard a key being put into my door, and heard the door open last Friday night," Cohen said. "She thought it was me, but I didn't get back until Sunday." He said University Police think the burglar may have been a University affiliate, in which case University insurance might reimburse him for the stolen merchandise. This is the second time this year that the Quad was burglarized during a vacation. Over winter break, when the Quad was closed and guarded by Allied Security, a room in the Morgan building was robbed of almost $6,000 in electronic equipment and other merchandise. There were no signs of forced entry in the incident, which University Police detectives are still investigating. Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone explained that the 36th Street Quad entrance was closed over break, adding that access through the 37th Street entrance was limited to Quad residents and their guests. She added that such burglaries are not new. "There have been other thefts," she said. "They have happened before during break periods."