Over Thanksgiving break all four fraternities on campus were hit with a string of burglaries.
According to Interfraternity Council Community Relations officer and junior Alejandro Fuentes, the burglaries occurred on two separate occasions.
The first burglary occurred between 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 23, and 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 24, at Beta Theta Pi and Tau Kappa Epsilon.
Fuentes, who stayed on campus during the break, was working on an essay in the study room of Beta when he left at 11:30 p.m. to sleep over with friends in TKE. Fuentes reports that when he came back to Beta to work on his essay at 1 p.m. the next day, he found his laptop missing in addition to graffiti on the house walls.
“Because no one was home at the time, [the burglars] were successful in entering what we believe is a window on the first floor,” Fuentes said.
A total of two laptops, watches and small electronic devices have been reported missing from the Beta house. Fuentes estimated that $4,000-$5,000 of goods were taken.
Fuentes notes that before he left for TKE that night, he ensured that all the doors were locked and stated that the windows were locked by the house janitor and handyman before he left for break.
“Before I left the house, I made sure the house was on what we call ‘lock-down,’ which is where all of the doors are locked so that no one without the punch-in [code] can get in,” Fuentes said.
A flat screen television, an XBox and other electronic devices were taken from TKE on the same night.
Although Fuentes was at TKE on the night the burglary occurred, he did not hear any commotion.
“There were five of us in TKE that night, and none of us heard any footsteps or loud noises,” he said.
An attempted entrance was made at Phi Delta Theta, but a fraternity member was awoken by the noise and chased the attempted burglars away between 3 and 4 a.m.
On Saturday, Nov. 26, a successful burglary occurred at Sigma Chi, Phi and again at TKE between the hours of 2 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.
According to Walla Walla Police Officer Tim Bennett, the Sigma Chi house was entered through a front door that had been propped open. A laptop, speakers, an amplifier and credit and gift cards were reported missing in addition to a wallet that contained $80 in cash.
A side door and window were found unlocked at the Phi Delta Theta house and a laptop computer that is valued at $1,500 was also reported missing.
Fuentes notes that whenever students leave campus for extended periods of time, the fraternities experience a number of thefts. While the campus may appear to be a safe haven, Bennett cautioned that students need to remain wary that theft that can always occur.
“Burglars know where the target rich environments are located and know when students are gone. Students need to keep their property locked up or take them home with them when they leave on breaks,” Bennett said.
