On Dec. 16, two textbooks were reported stolen by a student in Merrill at 10:12 p.m. Several hours later, on Dec. 17 at 2:41 a.m., a suspicious person was reported in the science library, but the person disappeared once police arrived at the scene.
Griffin Biedron '08, who was in Merrill that night, said, "My friend and hockey teammate Keith Nelson left our study materials in the science library for 40 minutes. When we got back, my biology book, organic chemistry book, organic chemistry solution manual and Keith's economics book were missing. We thought a friend was playing a joke on us, but then realized that others also had property stolen."
The following afternoon, on Dec. 17, Keith Nelson '10 observed a suspicious male in the Music Library. When confronted by Nelson, the man explained that he was waiting for a friend to finish his piano lessons. The man then exited the building and headed for Merrill, unknowingly being followed by Nelson.
When the man entered the Keefe Science Library, Nelson phoned Biedron, and, along with Rylan Burns '09 and Shane Lennox '09, tried to corner the suspect. "We devised a sting operation that would rid Amherst College of this thief," says Biedron. "Burns and Nelson waited at the exit of the science library in case the suspect tried to leave. I approached the man and said, due to recent cases of theft in the library, I was going to check his bags. Incredibly, I met no opposition."
The man was wearing an Amherst College key ring around his neck, claiming that it was a friend's, and gave a name. Lennox and Burns entered the name into the online directory and realized it was fictitious. The man packed his bags and prepared to leave, only to meet Nelson at the exit. "We caught the suspect in a number of lies and then called the police," said Biedron. Police responding to the report were able to locate the suspicious person and identify him as Rodriguez. During a routine records check, officers uncovered an active arrest warrant for Rodriguez, who was then arrested on a warrant for trespassing.
Police also discovered stolen property valued at over $250 in Rodriguez's possession-books, a digital camera, an iPod and a mountain bike.
The property had been reported stolen at the University of Massachusetts by one of their students. Campus Police confiscated the items, and sought a complaint in the District Court for a charge of Receiving Stolen Property for Rodriguez.
Rodriguez also received notice of trespass from Amherst College, although according to Police Chief John B. Carter, he has not been definitively connected to the original book theft. Rodriguez was transported to the Hampshire County Sheriff's Department for holding.
Campus police are working alongside Mt. Holyoke College Public Safety, Smith College Public Safety, UMass Police, and the Town of Amherst Police on similar investigations in the respective jurisdictions.