The Department of Public Safety caught and apprehended a man attempting to steal a bike outside of Village A last Saturday afternoon.

A DPS officer in plain clothes discovered the suspect attempting to cut the wire lock on a black mountain bike, according to a report by the Metropolitan Police Department. The suspect began to walk away when he noticed the officer. Several security officers then detained the suspect near New South Hall and brought him to DPS headquarters, according to the report.

Anne Musica (COL ’12) saw the arrest take place.

“I was on my way up the New South,/Village A hill and a DPS officer ran past me with a walkie. I stopped . to see what was going on,” she said in an email. “At the bottom of the hill . I saw four to five DPS officers with a car grab a black guy. . They pushed him against the bar and patted him down, then turned him around and cuffed him. They then walked him to the DPS station.”

DPS searched the suspect and found yellow bolt cutters in his possession. When questioned, the suspect said he was trying to steal the bike in order to get money for his family, according to the MPD report.

PD then responded to a DPS radio call at 4:30 p.m. and brought the suspect to MPD’s Second District Station. He was charged for a misdemeanor, according to the report.

The suspect was described at a black male, approximately 30 years old, between 210 and 220 pounds and between 5 feet 10 inches and 5 feet 11 inches tall. He had short black hair and was wearing blue pants and a blue coat.

There have been 27 bikes stolen on campus so far this semester, according DPS Investigative Sergeant David Ruiz. There have been two other attempted thefts; in both incidents the suspects fled the scene. “