May 5, 2003
Contact: Steve Rittereiser (509-963-2958/fax 509-963-2994/e-mail: chiefr@cwu.edu)
ELLENSBURG, Wash. - Early Friday evening (May 2), Central
Washington University police were called to the Language and Literature
(L+L) building to investigate the theft of two flat-screen monitors,
valued at $1,200. Officers found a door with a shattered glass panel
that allowed entry into the locked office.
Later that same evening, Officer Cameron Clasen was on patrol
and found a person acting suspiciously in the L+L area.
“During questioning, the man’s answers were found to be
inconsistent,” CWU Police Chief Steve Rittereiser says, noting the
person was subsequently taken into custody and a walkie-talkie
recovered.
The suspect then acknowledged his involvement in a second
attempt to burglarize the building, according to Rittereiser. A few
minutes later campus police located a second suspect, who also had a
walkie-talkie.
“We were able to determine the second suspect had attempted
to enter L-and-L a second time after earlier taking the flat-screen
monitors,” Rittereiser says. “It became obvious to Officer Clasen that
these people had knowledge of other burglaries on campus.”
A subsequent campus police search of their shared off-campus
residence turned up the two flat-screen monitors, two televisions,
stolen last week from Nicholson Pavilion; six laptops, stolen from the
Samuelson Union Building in March; and other items taken from the
Student Health and Counseling Center also in March. Rittereiser
estimates the value of the recovered property to be in excess of
$15,000.
“We determined that one of the suspects was responsible for
at least 22 vending machine thefts that have occurred during the past
thirteen months in various buildings on campus,” he adds. “It’s going
to take several days to present all of the information to the
prosecuting attorney, who will determine the extent of charges.”
The two suspects, both CWU students, are being held for
investigation of burglary and possession of stolen property.
Rittereiser credited Officer Clasen’s “investigative
persistence” and his interview skills in solving the string of
burglaries. In addition to his basic police academy training, Clasen
has attended several interview and investigative trainings sponsored by
ASPEN (Abuse Support and Prevention Education Now).
