Students help catch burglary suspect

Sound at door raised UH student's suspicions

Students detained a suspected burglar yesterday at a dormitory at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and held him for police.

Police say the suspect, 20, was involved in at least two recent burglaries in the dorms.

The drama began when a female dorm resident awakened to the sound of someone trying to turn her door handle. She watched the intruder through her door peephole and, when he left, alerted the front desk.

UH Housing Director Mike Kaptik said officials are looking into ways to improve dorm security, including electronic swipe cards, security cameras and doors that automatically lock when closed.

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A University of Hawaii-Manoa student heard someone jiggling the doorknob to her dorm room yesterday morning, checked the peephole and saw a man who was later arrested in connection with at least two recent burglaries on campus.

After a scary start this semester, with a sex assault and burglaries in the campus dorms, police arrested a 20-year-old Wahiawa man, who is not a student, yesterday for allegedly entering a freshmen residence hall, Hale Aloha Lokelani, and burglarizing a room.

After the student saw the man go down the hall, she reported the intrusion to the front desk. While she was downstairs, the man allegedly entered a room and stole some items.

Two other students saw the man, and one of them detained him until police arrived.

"There's been a lot of things happening on the University of Hawaii campus," said Honolulu Police Department spokesman Capt. Frank Fujii. "This is a perfect scenario of something going right."

Fujii and university officials credited the students for immediately reporting a suspicious visitor. However, UH-Manoa spokesman Gregg Takayama said, for safety reasons, he does not recommend that students confront alleged criminals.

To get into the 266-student dorm, residents must unlock the front door with a key, and visitors must sign in with the front desk, which is staffed 24 hours a day, Takayama said.

Police are investigating how the man got into the building. They believe he was not signed in.

After arresting the man, police officers found items on him from another recent burglary on the campus. Fujii declined to give more details.

Several students who live in nearby freshmen dorms said they were relieved to hear of an arrest, but that burglaries are becoming too common.

"It's almost become a norm here to hear people say, 'Oh, I got my stuff stolen,'" said Kelsey Kaplanek, 18, a freshman marine biology major living in Hale Lehua.

Brittany Lange, 18, a freshman who lives in Hale Aloha Mokihana, where two burglaries and a sex assault occurred the weekend before the semester started in August, said students are not being cautious enough and that university officials could do a better job in assuring security.

"I don't think people take it seriously until it happens to them," said Lange, who also noticed there are some days when there are no workers at her dorm's front desk. "Most people let others in because they want to be nice."

UH Housing Director Mike Kaptik said officials are looking into ways to improve dorm security, including electronic swipe cards, security cameras and doors that automatically lock when closed.

"We know there are things we can improve upon," Kaptik said. "Security is a dual-level aspect. It also comes from the students by not letting people piggyback in the dorms just because you want to be nice."