Ohio University students have reported break-ins into off-campus housing on High Street and West State Street.
Colin Sorge, a junior studying biology pre-med, lives on North High Street in a shared house and experienced a break-in around 10:30 p.m. Aug. 31.
Sorge said he was staying in the night the break-in occurred. Over the loud music from his speaker, he heard the front door open and originally attributed it to his friends coming home.
“I texted my friends,” Sorge said. “I'm like, ‘Are you guys stopping back from the bars?’ And then they said ‘No, none of us had gotten back from the bar. We're still here.’ So I freaked out.”
After realizing his situation, Sorge turned off his lights and decided to stay quiet.
“I don’t know what these people wanted,” Sorge said. “It sounded like men, so I was like ‘I don't know what they have, or what their motives are.’”
Sorge found the front door wide open, and a pair of Nike shoes, two Xbox controllers and a television remote had been stolen.
Jordan Braun, a junior studying marketing, lives on West State Street and reported a man looking around her front porch on a Ring video camera at 6:30 a.m. Sept. 18.
Braun and her roommates called the Athens Police Department to report the incident, but they had to leave a voice message when no one answered.
Braun said she was already aware of the break-in at Sorge’s house and another incident that happened the weekend prior.
“(The crimes) are all in the same area, and they're really not doing much about it,” Braun said. “That's where we are more concerned. The cops aren't really trying to put the effort in for it.”
APD Chief Nick Magruder reported that APD had no records of the call made by Braun and her roommates.
Sorge said he never called the police after his break-in because his roommate did not want to report the incident.
“I think there's a general fear among college kids, no matter what campus you're at, that you don't want to get the cops involved with things,” Sorge said.
Since the break-ins, Braun and her roommates have been taking extra safety measures. They are installing another Ring video camera in the backyard and have been looking into installing security door stops.
“I started locking my bedroom door because we're obviously seven girls in the house,” Braun said. “That makes all of us nervous.”
Magruder recommends that students lock their doors and windows when they leave or at night to prevent future break-ins. In addition, Magruder urges students to report any break-ins that happen right away.
“The key thing is we don't know,” Magruder said. “We don't have a problem if no one's reporting it”
To contact APD to report a break-in, call 911 or 740-592-3313.
