A string of cell phone robberies reported by the LSU Police Department before the fall semester began has continued as a trend over the past months, resurging with two more reported snatchings on Thursday.
LSUPD Spokesman Capt. Cory Lalonde said on Aug. 28 that LSUPD observed a rise in cell phone theft on and near the University campus.
In 2011, 16 robberies were reported to LSUPD and 13 involved cell phone theft, Lalonde said. He said 10 of the 13 occurred since October, and seven robberies this semester occurred during daylight hours.
“It’s easier to steal a cell phone. People make habit of talking on the phone or using the phone while they’re walking,” Lalonde said. “Cell phones are valuable. They’re small and easy to grab.”
He said many victims were deceived by individuals who would ask to use a cell phone but run away with it once it was in their possession.
Meredith Keating, communication disorders sophomore, said on Aug. 28 that she was walking near West Chimes Street when a young male approached her, asking to use her phone to call his mother.
“It was the first day of orientation, and I thought he might have been lost,” Keating said.
But the man took the phone and ran when Keating allowed him to use it.
One theft became violent when two men walking down Highland Road were held at gunpoint.
Nicholas Gautreaux, psychology sophomore, said on Sept. 6 that the suspect held a gun to his stomach and demanded his cell phone.
“I pushed the gun away and told him no,” Gautreaux said.
He said he instead offered the man $10, and the man took the money and ran.
Lalonde said instances also occurred where victims’ phones were quickly knocked out of their hands by thieves and subsequently stolen.
A number of cell phone thefts occurred at football games, Lalonde said. Multiple thefts at the Western Kentucky game led to arrests, and the case is still under investigation.
The Baton Rouge Police Department said in a Nov. 29 news release that recent attack and rape incidents both involved a suspect asking to use victims’ cell phones. The same individual is suspected in both attacks.
The most recent incident occurred Thursday when two similar incidents were reported to police. One occurred as a resident of Tiger Manor Apartments was walking down State Street and a man knocked his phone out of his hands, took it and quickly got into a vehicle.
Lalonde said it’s uncertain at this point whether the recent thefts on were related to previous incidents, but a link is likely as LSUPD suspects several different groups of criminals are involved.
 
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Contact Brian Sibille at [email protected]