Is arrested man a serial burglar?

PROVO — Police want to know if an Orem man could be the serial burglar wanted for a rash of thefts in student apartments since January.

Police arrested the man Thursday after a woman reported that the man walked into her apartment bedroom. She continued to pretend like she was asleep until he left.

When he left the apartment — in the Raintree Apartments — she called 911, Provo Police Capt. Rich Healey said.

When police approached the man in the apartment complex parking lot he fled through the complex, dropping items as he ran, Healey said. Items dropped include wallets and identification cards.

Police say the man ran into a wooded area that borders the large apartment complex and attempted to hide. That's where police apprehended him, Healy said.

Police then searched the man's Orem residence and found two laptop computers and several other items that had been reported stolen during two April 28 burglaries at the 1849 Freedom Blvd. complex. Computers, backpacks, cameras, purses, jewelry, bank cards and similar valuables were reported stolen in the rash of thefts.

The man was booked into Utah County Jail for investigation of burglary and possession of stolen property.

Victims reported a burglar entered numerous apartments where off-campus Brigham Young University and Utah Valley State College students live during at least the past 4 1/2 months.

Of the more than 100 thefts, 90 shared the same characteristics, including the intruder entering through an unlocked door, police said.

The apartments line the BYU campus from the north end to the south. Often, the thief would hit several apartments in the same span of time. Many thefts were reported on Sundays. Students would leave their apartments to attend church services and then find things missing when they returned, police said.

On several occasions women reported someone entering their room while they were in bed. The intruder inadvertently woke some of them. On at least two occasions women residents confronted the man and asked what he was doing.

On each occasion he excused himself, saying he was "looking for someone else," police said.

On one occasion a female tenant reportedly escorted the man out while her roommate called police.

Both men and women's apartments were targeted. Police cautioned students to lock their doors and windows, even when they were home, but the thefts continued.

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