$20,000 in equipment stolen from library

A month after 12 computer monitors were stolen from a room in the UA Main Library, another $20,000 in equipment was reported missing from the same room over the weekend, police said.

A projector and 10 computers are missing from the library, with each computer valued at $2,000 and the projector valued at $2,500, according to University of Arizona Police Department records.

A UA employee told police he last saw the equipment, which was secured with fastened cable cords, around 3 p.m. Nov. 10 in a room in the library, 1510 E. University Blvd.

Five days later, the cable cord was found cut and the items were reported missing, reports stated.

There were no signs of forced entry into the computer lab, but police did find a suitcase and rock at the bottom of a fire exit stairwell in the facility.

The suitcase could have been used to carry the computers, and the rock could have been used to prop the door open, reports stated.

Police were unsuccessful in obtaining fingerprints from the objects and have no suspects thus far, said Sgt. Eugene Mejia, UAPD spokesman.

The room was open to faculty and students during business hours and locked during nonbusiness hours, Mejia said. A combination is needed to enter the building after hours, and only staff members are given the code. The combination was recently changed, however, after 12 computer monitors were stolen from the same room on Oct. 11, reports stated.

Because this is the second incident of equipment being stolen from the room and considering the number of laptops stolen, Mejia said the case seems unusual.

"We're continuing with the investigation," Mejia said, but anyone with information on either incident is encouraged to call 888-CRIME.

- By Holly Wells