News in Brief

9/11/08 7:00pm

Woman robbed at Greenbriar Lot

A woman getting into her car at the Greenbriar Lot was robbed at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Rice University Police Department is currently searching for two men involved in the crime.One of the suspects was described as a bald African-American man with no facial hair who was wearing a gray tank top and running shorts with a gold chain around his neck. RUPD Captain Phil Hassell said the other suspect was also African-American, but no further description was provided. The men were driving a Chevrolet Avalanche pickup truck.

The woman, who had just finished jogging the Outer Loop before the incident, unlocked and started her car and was stretching next to it when two men drove up in the pickup truck. The bald man got out of the truck and took the woman's purse out of the passenger side of her car, Hassell said.

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The woman ran around and yelled at the man, but he pushed her away and jumped into the truck. The woman called out to others in the parking lot but was unable to get help, and the two men drove away.

Hassell said since the pickup truck the men were driving had paper license plates, there is no way to trace the vehicle. He said the incident might be connected to robberies in the West University area using rental cars, but currently there is no proof the crimes are connected.

Hassell said it was likely the suspects had investigated Greenbriar Lot before the robbery.

"My guess is there's somebody who knows there's joggers out there at that time of day," Hassell said.

Hassell advised students to park in well-lit areas, to have someone with them when possible, to lock the doors, to leave immediately after getting in the car and to not leave valuables in the car.

-Jocelyn Wright

Bike theft

Embodying the "go beyond the hedges" motto, a student's stolen bicycle ventured all the way to Michigan this summer. Rice University Police Department located the bike through its registration tags and made plans to ship it back to Houston. In accordance with this theme, nine bikes have been stolen since August, all of which were either unsecured or locked with an easily-breakable cable or chain lock, RUPD Captain Phil Hassell said. Four more bikes that were secured with U-bolt locks had parts stolen.

Last year, 141 bicycles were stolen from the Rice campus. Hassell said the occurrence rates of thefts are cyclical and rise and fall depending on the number of thieves in the area at a time. Last fall, 223 bicycles were registered with the university, a fraction of the near-1,000 bikes on campus, Hassell said.

Hassell stressed the importance of securing bikes with a U-bolt lock as well as registering bikes.

Bike registration has its own benefits, as it gives RUPD a greater chance of tracking down stolen vehicles, he said.

Recently, registration has gone far beyond the hedges. Besides the bike found in Michigan, another was recently discovered in Oregon and two more were in Montgomery county.

However, RUPD cannot arrest a suspect if bicycles do not have labels, which can be obtained by registering online, Hassell said.

"During Christmas break last year we chased down a thief running away with two bikes," Hassell said. "We cornered him, and he confessed to stealing the bikes. However, neither of them were registered, and we had to let him go, so by the time the students got back from break and reported the thefts, it was too late."

Locking up a bike is also a near necessity, something many Rice bicyclists seem to be unaware of, Hassell said.

"Last Friday we did a check and found over 100 unsecured bikes in the college area alone," Hassell said.

Securing bicycles is not only a safety precaution for the owner of the bike, but for bike owners across campus, Hassell said.

"Let's say you're an extremely tidy person, but your roommate is a complete slob and throws everything around," Hassell said. "Sure, it's not your business, but once the bugs start coming, it's your business. Bike thieves are like cockroaches -- they come wherever food is. If there are easy pickings, they'll come for the bikes. We've got to make it hard for them."

There will be a transportation fair Sept. 17 in the RMC's Grand Hall, with RUPD and the Bell or Yell committee providing biking information to students and faculty. Members of RUPD will be selling U-bolt locks and insurance for $10.97.

RUPD will also host a bicycle fair Sept. 23. RUPD officers will be on hand to register students' bikes and demonstrate correct ways to lock bikes.

-Jenny Sun

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