Appalachian State University campus police say they are close to making an arrest in the  investigation of several larcenies from the Mt. Mitchell Fitness Center locker rooms that occurred within the last two weeks.

The crimes are still under investigation, but Capt. Todd Corley said University Police are nearing an arrest and there is a high probability that it is the same suspect for all the thefts.

Corley said that a commonality between all the crimes at Mt. Mitchell and the majority of larceny cases on campus is that the stolen items are left unsecured and doors are left unlocked.

“We don’t have anyone going in and cutting and picking locks,” Corley said. “Every case we’ve had has been the result of an unsecured locker.”

Corley said that solving these sort of crimes is difficult when they occur because of unsecure belongings.  He said that there is about a 50 percent chance of solving a larceny that was the result of lack of precaution.

“When people go in a locker room and see someone going through a locker, you can’t tell if that’s their locker or not and that makes them very difficult to solve,” Corley said. “If people would be more responsible in securing their dorm rooms and locker rooms then most of these thefts wouldn’t happen.”

Corley said that when solving these cases, the police send out crime alerts to try and get tips as well as search for commonalities between multiple crimes.

University Police extended several safety tips for students when using university facilities as well as securing dorm rooms.

University Police also advise students and faculty not to leave belongings unsecured and unattended at any time  because most thefts occur due to unlocked doors and lockers, Corely said.

Story: Carl Blankenship, Intern News Reporter