Police are currently investigating the theft of a faculty vehicle stolen from campus Monday and recovered Tuesday afternoon.
At 1:10 p.m. Monday, University Police issued an advisory to faculty, staff and students for a 2008 Gray Honda Ridgeline truck stolen from campus between 9:30 a.m. and 12:04 p.m. The truck was located on Acadia Drive near Talbot Hall.
Craig Jaccuzzo, director of University Police, said the faculty member noticed his keys and cell phone missing from his desk and when he went outside for lunch, he noticed his truck missing.
Jaccuzzo said Sergeant Alexander Barnes recorded a statement about the stolen truck at 12:26 p.m. and a “BOLO,” or “be on the look out,” alert was sent out to all area law enforcement regarding the incident Monday. University Police also notified regional agencies by phone to make sure patrols going out that day knew to look for the truck.
As a result of the advisory sent out, University Police received a phone call about a sighting of the truck on Monday near the Schriever overpass. Louisiana State Police and the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office were notified to look for the truck but did not find it.
In a report filed by the Thibodaux Police Department Monday, Corporal Timothy Lipscomb arrived at the 1200 block of St. Charles St. and La. 1 Highway at 5:29 p.m. in reference to a stolen vehicle. Upon arrival, he was unable to locate the vehicle.
On Tuesday, University Police received a phone call saying Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Department responded to a hit and run on Old Schriever Highway and the end of Broadway Avenue. Jaccuzzo said when Terrebonne Parish arrived on the scene, the truck had struck a four door white vehicle, and the driver of the stolen truck was arguing with the individuals in the white vehicle. As the deputies pulled up, the driver of the stolen truck fled on foot across the railroad tracks, heading towards LA 24 going towards Houma. After a pursuit into a nearby wooded area, deputies lost the driver.
Although the driver was not caught, Jaccuzzo said officials have a good physical description of him now. The driver is described as a six-foot-tall black male in dark clothing with a distinctive dreadlock hairstyle.
The stolen truck was recovered, towed to the University and locked up in a secure area on Tuesday. Jaccuzzo said the truck was processed to look for any items not belonging to the owner of the vehicle.
“We look for any and all items in the car that does not belong to the owner. We look for fingerprints and leftover evidence that we can link to the driver or the person who was in possession of the truck, anything that was not the owner’s or was damaged or touched by the violators or suspects,” Jaccuzzo said.
University Police also fingerprinted the vehicle using the AFIS, or Automated Fingerprint Identification System. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Web site, the system not only fingerprints, but it corresponds criminal histories, mug shots and physical characteristics. This information is submitted by state, local and federal law enforcement agencies. Jaccuzzo said fingerprints, in addition to items like receipts and cell phones, are being processed in order to figure out who the suspect is.
Evidence recovered from the truck has provided concrete leads that University Police are looking into, Jaccuzzo said.
According the Louisiana revised statute 14:67.26, “whoever commits the crime of theft of a motor vehicle when the misappropriation or taking amounts to a sum of one thousand five hundred dollars or more shall be imprisons, with or without hard labor, for not more than 10 years or may be fined not more than $3,000 or both.”
The theft of a motor vehicle is defined as “the taking of a motor vehicle, which belongs to another, either without the owner’s consent or by means of fraudulent conduct, practices or representations, with the intention to permanently deprive the owner of the motor vehicle.”
Although he does not know who the person was, whoever stole the truck obviously knew the geographic layout of the campus and felt comfortable enough to be in an academic building, Jaccuzzo said.
University Police have also requested video footage from a convenience store on the corner of LA 20 and Old Schriever Road, which may show the suspect running from that area.
In addition to the vehicle, Jaccuzzo said University Police is investigating a report of five students missing cash, credit cards and cell phones, which were in a room in Talbot Hall.
Since Friday, one student has recovered her cell phone at her home, one has not returned phone calls from University Police and three still have items missing. Jaccuzzo said no credit cards have been charged, and no cell phones have been used.
Although multiple thefts have been reported on campus, Jaccuzzo said he does not have anything that would link those thefts together.
Through talking to individuals on campus, Jaccuzzo said he is disturbed to know that faculty and staff have seen suspicious things in the past and have not reported them and that items are not being secured inside offices and rooms in buildings.
“With anybody on the campus, if you see something suspicious, it does no good if it’s not reported to us,” Jaccuzzo said. “If we get that information, a lot of times we may connect the dots to something else and put a picture together that people are not all aware of.”
Jaccuzzo said University Police wants everyone at the University to be aware of their belongings at all times.
“We strongly urge faculty, staff and students to take precautions in securing their valuables in their cars and offices,” Jaccuzzo said.
