OCU police recently investigated a break-in in Methodist Hall and made an arrest for theft from Dawson-Loeffler Science and Mathematics Center.
Officials said they do not think the two incidents are related.
A student woke up during Spring Break to discover an unfamiliar man entering her room in Methodist Hall.
The student’s roommates were gone during the break, leaving her alone in her room.
Though she normally always locks the door, on March 20 she worked late and said she may have forgotten to lock it.
The student heard her bedroom door start to open and turned to find a man peeking into her bedroom. Without thinking, she questioned the intruder, who turned and walked out of her room.
The student called OCU Police Department, and officers came and checked the other apartments for the intruder. University officials also ruled out that the man was a facilities employee on a service call.
The student’s roommates’ doors were opened, but nothing was missing. Her wallet also was untouched.
OCUPD patrolled the surrounding area, but no one matching the intruder’s description was found. The student said the situation was frightening, but OCUPD made her feel safe.
After the intrusion, OCUPD posted fliers in the dorm, reminding students to lock their doors.
“We want to remind people to lock their doors, not to prop open entries to the dorms, not to loan out swipe keys, and let the RAs know if you are having someone spend the night or if you are leaving,” said Sandy Pantlik, senior director of university communications.
In an unrelated incident, a man was arrested March 24 in the parking lot of Dawson-Loeffler Science and Mathematics Center.
The man was arrested after a professor caught him in his office and chased him into the parking lot.
Campus police then arrested the man who they said had taken four textbooks worth more than $700 from the professor’s office.
The professor declined to comment.
Pantlik said the man who was arrested was a book buyer. She said book buyers purchase books from students and professors and sell them for discounted rates.
University professors and students have experienced trouble with book buyers in the past, Pantlik said. Although she never knew of them stealing books, Pantlik said book buyers were known to be aggressive when asking for books and are, therefore, no longer welcome on campus.
James Edmunds, 32, of Oklahoma City was arrested on complaints of possession of stolen property and taken to the Oklahoma County jail.
OCUPD refused Monday to provide the police report, but directed inquires to Pantlik.
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