Police are investigating the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity after four pledges admitted to stealing benches and a table ÷ university property ÷ early Wednesday morning, police reports stated.

After the stolen items were found at the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house, 1510 N. Vine Ave., the pledges told police that they stole the metal park bench from the UA Pharmacy building, 1703 E. Mabel St., and metal picnic table and benches from the UA Radiation Control Office, 1640 N. Vine St.

An employee from the Radiation Control Office notified police at 12:30 p.m. after he noticed the picnic table was missing from an engine shop.

Police also found cut marks in a cable lock that secured two additional benches to a pole, leading police to say they were also targets for theft, reports stated.

An employee from UA Grounds Services Department called police after he saw a picnic bench and a park bench through cracks in the backyard fence of the fraternity house, reports stated.

Two of the pledges, Jonathan O'Brien, a media arts freshman, and Aaron Sosa, a theatre arts freshman, both told police that they were not coerced or pressured into stealing the items or taking the blame for the theft, reports stated. When asked to name fraternity members that knew of the theft, O'Brien resisted at first, but said Adam Liebling, chapter pledge master, knew about the incident along with other members of the fraternity, reports stated.

O'Brien and Liebling did not wish to answer questions about the incident yesterday. According to police reports, the picnic table is worth $600 and the picnic benches are worth $150 each. The metal park bench is worth $1,500.

UA Dean of Students Melissa Vito said that a report was filed with the department yesterday and they will be following up today.

UA Greek Life will also be looking into the matter, said Chris Bullins, greek life director.

After police were called, two officers saw the stolen items in the backyard. When one officer was interviewing David Zapletal, a retail and consumer sciences sophomore, at the front door, the other officer saw five or six members moving the stolen items into the chapter house, reports stated.

Zapletal told the officer that he did not know about any stolen property in the backyard, but along with two other fraternity members, he made some calls and found the names of the pledges involved, reports stated.

When the officers were allowed to search the backyard, the benches and table were gone. Douglas Best, a studio arts freshman, was the only person in the backyard and told police that he and others moved the tables and benches when a fraternity member yelled, "Move the stuff."

Zapletal and Best also refused to answer questions yesterday.

Along with O'Brien and Sosa, pledge brothers Nicholas Mazza, a mechanical engineering freshman, and political science freshman Jeremy Mandel were involved in the theft, reports stated.

Mazza told police that it was mostly his idea and that it took them three or four trips to get everything. They used fraternity member Romy Kaplan's truck to steal the items, reports stated.

When asked to discuss the matter, Kaplan said "no" and hung up the phone.

The officers who took the report have forwarded the case to the UAPD investigations division, which will determine the extent of the charges the fraternity members face, reports stated.