An investigation began April 1 to find out where thousands of dollars of missing equipment had gone from the ACU Onstead Science Building.

An Onstead faculty member noticed the rear entrance to be open when he arrived at work, immediately reporting it to ACUPD.

ACUPD Chief of Police, Jimmy Ellison said, “The suspect had actually committed several burglaries over the course of a few weeks, going in and out of the building on multiple occasions late at night.”

The suspect was identified as a 33-year-old Abilene man that had been getting in by simply waiting for someone to either exit or enter the building and would proceed to walk in. Once inside, he would steal various equipment such as computers, tablets, a flatscreen TV and some equipment from the science areas.

“We have seen an increase in vulnerability because the campus is closed because there are very few people on and around the campus anytime you see something suspicious or become aware of a crime,” Ellison said.

At the end of the investigation, charges were filed against the burglar and all the items were returned. With the help of the ACU community reporting the incident, ACUPD was able to go through camera footage and identify the man. Over the period of a couple of days, they had multiple interviews with the suspect, who ultimately confessed to the crimes.