Burglaries reported from residence hall rooms
Reports of thefts from open residence hall rooms have increased this fall. Eight burglaries were reported in October and five more as of Nov. 11.
In each case the room resident told police the room door had been left ajar. Although the thief did not need to force entry into the rooms, the incidents are classified as burglaries because they are thefts by an unknown person who does not have authorized access into a living environment. In some cases the rooms were unoccupied, but in others a resident remained in the room sleeping during the reported time of the thefts.
The Department of Public Safety (DPS) has identified a primary person of interest connected with these burglaries. A picture of Rick Ramon, 33, can be found on the DPS Web site, police.umich.edu. Witnesses have provided a suspect description of a white or Hispanic man, 5 feet, 5 inches to 5 feet, 8 inches tall, slim build, college age, often seen wearing a puffy jacket and carrying a backpack. Police believe the suspect(s) loiters outside a hall entrance and enters the building when it is opened by a student.
Police are urging students to shut and lock their doors whenever they leave their rooms, even for a few minutes.
The following burglaries recently have been reported to DPS:
• Oct. 2: Bursley Hall, wallet, cell phone and MP3 player taken from occupied room between 8:15-10:30 a.m.; East Quadrangle, purse taken between 11:45 p.m.-midnight
• Oct. 3: West Quadrangle, laptop taken between 11 p.m.-midnight
• Oct. 4: South Quadrangle, wallet and iPods taken from occupied room around 11 a.m.
• Oct. 21: Bursley Hall, laptop and iPod taken between 9-9:15 a.m.; South Quadrangle, purse taken between 5-6 p.m.
• Oct. 22: Markley Hall, laptop taken between 10-10:30 a.m.
• Oct. 24: West Quadrangle, laptop and wallet taken from occupied room between 8:40-9 a.m.
• Nov. 5: East Quadrangle, laptop taken between 7:35-7:45 p.m.; West Quadrangle, laptop taken around 9:45 p.m.
• Nov. 6: Alice Lloyd, iPod taken from occupied room between 7:15-7:20 a.m.; South Quadrangle, wallet and MP3 player taken from occupied room between 8-9:30 a.m.
• Nov. 7: South Quadrangle, iPod taken from occupied room about 1:10 a.m.
Anyone with information about any of these incidents or about the person of interest is asked to contact DPS at (734) 763-1131 or the University’s Anonymous Tip Line at (800) 863-1355.
Charges authorized in assault
Two counts of assault have been authorized by the county prosecutor’s office in connection with an Oct. 12 incident near East Quadrangle. Arrangements are pending, as of the print deadline, for the defendant to surrender and be arraigned. One count of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder — a 10-year felony — and one misdemeanor count of aggravated assault have been authorized for a 22-year-old student from Ohio. He is accused of assaulting a 20-year-old student after a short verbal exchange around 2:30 a.m. Oct. 12. The suspect reportedly picked up the victim and body-slammed him to the ground. The victim was taken to the U-M Emergency Room for treatment. He was released from the hospital the following day.
