Victoria Billings
vbillings@mustangdaily.net
An organized crime ring has been stealing MacBook computers from Cal Poly students who live near campus, San Luis Obispo Police Department (SLOPD) said.
Most of the burglaries occurred from Nov. 30 to Dec. 1, and were reported on the 1200 and 1300 blocks of Foothill Boulevard, the 100 block of Hathway Avenue and the 300 block of Buena Vista Drive, SLOPD Captain Chris Staley said. The burglars took MacBooks, chargers and ignored other items, like wallets, Staley said.
“When these groups do these things, they often go after one specific item.” Staley said. “That’s why they move in a group like this and sell them quick and move on.”
The number of similar burglaries reported led SLOPD to conclude that the burglaries were part of an organized effort, Staley said.
SLOPD is now trying to discover the location of the laptops, Staley said.
Most of the homes reported were secured, but at least one of the houses was left unlocked, Staley said. San Luis Obispo residents should be cautious, Staley said.
“Lock your doors,” Staley said. “I understand a lot of apartments people don’t, so lock them if you can. If you have any valuable items, secure your items so they’re not out in the open.”
San Luis Obispo residents should be especially cautious during the holiday season, when burglaries tend to increase, Staley said. SLOPD often sees “a rash” of reported burglaries after Cal Poly and Cuesta College students return to San Luis Obispo after winter break, Staley said.
And for some of the people who reported being burglarized, holiday spirits have already been dampened.
Graphic communication junior Shannon Reilly said coming home to missing laptops felt like a bad Christmas story.
“It’s almost Christmas and there’s someone going around taking everyone’s computers,” Reilly said. “It’s almost like the Grinch.”
Reilly and her roommates left their apartment at 6:10 p.m. on Dec. 1, Reilly said. They went downtown for dinner and, when they got home at 7:30, discovered that their apartment was full of muddy footprints, Reilly said.
Reilly was most frightened by the short window of time she had been out of the house, she said.
“It was just like the feeling that someone had been watching us,” Reilly said.
Reilly’s roommate, wine and viticulture junior Meredith Hansbury, was the last to leave the apartment for dinner. After the roommate’s reported the burglary, Hansbury realized how easily she could have gone back into the apartment and perhaps been injured, she said.
“It’s honestly a creepy feeling thinking that someone with bad intentions was in our home,” Hansbury said.
Hansbury, Reilly and their roommates barely slept the first night, even after barricading their house, Hansbury said.
Though the experience has been frightening for the roommates, it has also brought out the best in people, Hansbury said. Hansbury’s neighbors loaned the roommates a computer to use while studying for finals, and professors have been understanding, Hansbury said.
Nonetheless, Hansbury still lost music and photographs that she treasured, she said.
“My roommate and I, we studied abroad and all our photos were on there,” Hansbury said.
Hansbury believes in karma, though, and believes that the police will eventually catch up with the alleged burglars, she said.
The alleged burglars have been too greedy, hitting multiple houses in a day, Hansbury said.
“They are going to trip up,” Hansbury said.
And in the future, Hansbury and her roommates are going to be more careful to make sure all the doors are locked, she said.
San Luis Obispo seems like a safe community, but this experience has made it clear that things can go wrong on the Central Coast, too, Hansbury said.
“I think we got a false sense of security in San Luis Obispo, where we thought nothing could happen,” Hansbury said.