LSUPD responded to a break-in at the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity house Monday evening, the fourth of its kind reported in the last six months.
Bill Sanders, the fraternity’s president, said when he returned to the house with fellow fraternity member Lake Hearne around 3 p.m., when they discovered the break-in.
There were no signs of forced entry into the house, but a n interior steel door on the third floor of the house had been ripped off its hinges, Sanders said. A window had also been broken.
Police gathered no evidence except for a set of fingerprints.
There are no suspects in the case and there has been no official indication that the break-in was perpetrated by members of another fraternity.
“We’re not pointing a finger at anybody,” Sanders said.
Sanders said the lock on the door had recently been replaced after a similar break-in on April 30.
He said a television and stereo were stolen and there was vandalism on the third floor. He estimated the value of the items stolen and the damage to be between $1,000 and $2,000.
LSUPD Officer Kit Pace, who responded to the call, confirmed all aspects of Sanders’ story except for the estimated cost of the damage and stolen property.
Pace did not comment further on the incident other than to say that there were no new developments in the investigation.
The break-in comes a little more than a month after the fraternity returned to campus after being placed on two-year probation by the DKE Alumni Association.
“After all of the money and work we and the undergraduate members have put into bringing DKE back to campus, it is very discouraging and depressing to have something like this happen,” said Robert Barkerding, president of the DKE Alumni Association.
Sanders said he agreed the incident is a setback.
“It undermines the progress that we’ve made as a Greek system as a whole,” Sanders said. “The IFC has made great strides to improve the system — this is a black eye.”
Barkerding speculated that it is possible members of another fraternity on campus broke into the house, but stressed that it was only his opinion.
“Everyone knows that the third floor of the house is very secret. It is closed off to everyone except active members,” Barkerding said. “The Alumni Association feels that these acts of vandalism and theft were brought on because of acts of curiosity.”
Barkerding said the DKE Alumni Association is offering a $500 reward to any information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible.