UP finds no answers in nearly 20 car burglary investigations
A string of car burglaries at the beginning of this’semester has left 18 USF students with damaged cars and without answers.
On Jan. 11, the first day of the semester, 18 cars were’broken into. Each had a’smashed window and most had items like sunglasses, car stereos, GPS systems,’laptops and iPods stolen.
But University’ Police (UP) spokeswoman Lt. Meg Ross said detectives, who were unable to lift prints from the crime scenes, are ‘not pursuing any specific leads at this time.’
‘There are usually four officers working at any given time ‘hellip; and we can’t be’everywhere,’ Ross said. ‘It’s something that all levels of the department feel when’something like this happens, and we look at what we can do differently.’
USF junior finance major Thomas Seeko reported a total of seven items stolen from his car, which was in parking lot’16 at the time of the theft.
‘It makes me feel really nervous leaving my car in the’parking lot anymore,’ Seeko said. ‘I just really wish that the campus security or the police department would monitor that parking lot a little better. I pay’$200 to park my car and I can’t even feel safe leaving my car in the’parking lot.’
‘My back window was broken in the car, my ignition was messed up because they tried to steal it, and they stole’my $1,000 sub-woofers,’Seeko said.
The targeted cars were in parking lots 13, 16, and’43, according to UP reports.’
All three lots are located behind the Andros Housing complex and between the Johnnie B. Byrd Alzheimer’s Center and Research Institute and the UP Station.
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