Sometime between Thursday and Saturday last week, an
unidentified burglar or burglars forcibly opened Reinert Hall’s
lockbox, obtained 21 room keys and used them to gain access to 12
rooms, according to Director of Public Safety Jack Titone.

The perpetrator(s) stole laptop computers, jewelry, a gaming
system, cameras, DVDs, CDs and cash from the rooms, according to
Director of Residence Life Shawn Swinigan, who did not specify the
number of items stolen or their total value.

While DPS, which has assembled a nine-person priority squad to
investigate the incident, has not dismissed the possibility that
the burglars were not affiliated with Saint Louis University,
Titone stressed that it was likely that “Somebody knew exactly what
they were looking for … and knew the interworking of the key
procedure at the University.

“We consider this to be an internal theft-type of incident,”
Titone added.

He said that some of the stolen items were retrieved off campus,
but said he was unable to disclose what they were without
endangering the investigation. The items were in someone’s
possession, he said, but declined to specify if that person was
affiliated with the University.

“We do have some promising leads,” he added, “and we feel
confident that within the week something may transpire that may
lead to some arrests, based on some of the information we’ve
received already.”

The incident was first reported to the DPS early Sunday morning
by a Residence Life staffer who discovered someone had tampered
with the lockbox, Titone said.

Because there were no signs of forced entry into the building
and none of the rooms were ransacked, Titone said, the St. Louis
Police Department had to wait for students to return to determine
if anything had been stolen from the rooms.

Megan Kinney, Reinert’s assistant residence coordinator, said
all students had left the building by noon on Wednesday. According
to Kinney, only the building’s two permanent residents were living
in Reinert from Thursday to Saturday.

The priority squad’s investigators are reviewing video
surveillance tapes and interviewing people who had access to the
building during the days on which the incident could have occurred,
Titone said.

As far as reimbursements for residents who had their belongings
stolen in the burglary, Swinigan said SLU knows the residents and
their families are upset, but, “The University’s insurance will not
cover student loses related to theft. The policy is very similar to
that of any private apartment complex that also would not cover
losses related to theft.”

“The University is encouraging families to contact their
homeowners’ insurance and/or renters insurance policy providers to
inquire about coverage,” he added.

Titone, who has been at SLU for 10 years, said this was the
first time he could remember a theft of this magnitude on
campus.