Residents of Henle 15 reported that $4,000 worth of jewelry and other items were missing from their apartment sometime Monday.

The four female students in the apartment told investigators from the Metropolitan Police Department that they had locked the door before leaving, and that no one had been in the apartment since before 10 a.m. that morning. When they returned around 5 p.m., they discovered that there had been a break-in. The victims could not be reached for comment.

The Department of Public Safety responded to the scene immediately, and MPD officers arrived around 7 p.m. Lincois Anderson, director of Harbin Hall, and Jerome Wilson, university locksmith, also arrived at the scene.

James Volvino, an MPD investigator, said that although the lock did not appear to be broken, it would not have been difficult for an intruder to gain entry to the apartment.

“If the door was locked, it really just depends what condition the lock was in,” he said. “It could have been as easy as just pushing hard on it.”

While the victims spoke with MPD officers for over three hours, Georgetown’s facilities team made arrangements to have the locks changed as soon as investigators had finished collecting evidence.

Volvino said these sorts of burglars are often repeat offenders.

“Usually, in these cases, it’s an individual with a drug problem who does this consistently,” Volvino said. “When you catch one person, you can sometimes close 50 or 60 cases at once.”

Volvino said that students should deadbolt their doors for extra security. “If you’re going to make it easy for them, they’re going to break in,” he said.

DPS and Lincois Anderson declined to comment.

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