Alleged backpack bandit in custody

A KUAT-Television employee caught and detained a man yesterday whom university police say fits the description of a person who has been recently preying upon unsecured valuables in various campus buildings.

Officers rolled up to the Modern Languages Building about 11:45 a.m., where KUAT employees reported they had a man in custody in a basement office.

"If he was leaving, I was going with him," said studio supervisor Matthew Corradi, who held the man while colleagues called for help.

Corradi said he saw the man enter his office and take his backpack, and was trying to leave when he confronted him. Corradi said somebody had stolen some of his belongings from his backpack about a week ago, and that he would file charges for yesterday's incident.

KUAT producer Ted Robbins said he was in a nearby editing room when he heard Corradi shouting for assistance.

"Matt yelled, 'Ted, I've got someone here trying to steal my backpack,' and he wanted to leave so I called 911," he said.

Police briefly questioned the man in the KUAT-TV production room before handcuffing him and taking him to university police headquarters.

The man told officers he was not a student and was in the building looking for a restroom.