Chair Bandit

A student in Varner Hall came to Oakland University Police Department to report an attempted larceny on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. The student, who works in the theatre department in Varner, saw a white male carrying a chair from the Varner Hall studio theater “green room” and place it in the back of his vehicle in the P26 parking lot.

The student confronted the man, asking what he was doing with the chair and where he lived, expecting him to be a dorm student taking the chair to a dorm on campus. The man said he lived in an apartment in The Edge and said he needed furniture.

The student saw the man carry the chair back inside the building and copied the license plate of his car, and could not see if there was any other furniture in the back of the vehicle. Dispatch found the address that matched the given license plate number and had an officer check the apartment for any other stolen furniture.

Upon arrival, the officer saw an SUV that matched the description the student gave. The suspect opened the door and admitted that he had stolen other furniture from campus earlier that day, and said that he was desperate and had really messed up. He also said he had no money and no furniture in his apartment, and felt he would be more comfortable if he had somewhere to sit. He said he felt more comfortable stealing old furniture from an old building that he assumed no one would miss.

The officer arrested the man for attempted larceny, but at no point handcuffed him. He was returned to his residence and informed that he shouldn’t return to OU’s campus until his already scheduled meeting at the Counseling Center.