Three non-UT students were arrested and charged with theft by the Tampa Police Department last Tuesday evening near Straz Hall.
According to a video surveillance camera, a total of four bikes were originally taken, but three were recovered, one which was claimed by a young lady later that night.
“We were lucky enough to get the young lady to call about the bike,” said Howell. “I’m not sure if she’s going to court about that, so they may not get charged with theft officially,” said Howell.
From what the camera shows, two juveniles got away with at least one bike.
Two out of the three juveniles arrested were charged with theft on paper, but because they had no former arrest history they were not taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center, or “kiddy jail,” as Howell called it.
“However, one juvenile, who had a previous arrest history, was taken down to the detention facility,” said Howell.
The yellow bolt cutters the juveniles used to cut the locks on the bikes were confiscated, however, TPD did not charge the juveniles with possession of burglary tools.
“Even though the crime occurred around 6:00 p.m. and the area was crowded with students heading to and from class and people were on the track,” said a witness, “only one phone call had been made to campus security and it was to complain about two suspicious males harassing female UT students.”
The caller and her friends were standing near the swing benches when they saw the two suspicious males eyeing female students as they walked by.
“It was as if they could see right through the girls’ clothes and they just stared them down as if they were a piece of meat,” said the UT student.
“I just had this gut feeling that they should not have been on campus and though they weren’t paying attention to me, I was worried someone was going to get hurt,” said the anonymous phone caller.
She and a friend waited for security and in a matter of seconds, one golf cart showed up and then about three more followed.
“At first, we thought security must have been bored to send so many over just for two guys loitering,” said the caller. “We couldn’t believe that the guys were actually stealing bikes. It was if they wanted to get caught with how obvious they were acting.”
However, most students were unaware to the ongoing crime.
“One girl was caught on tape walking right by the three juveniles cutting the bikes from the back rack near the track and had no idea,” said Howell.
He continued to say, “Students are oblivious to what’s going on. It’s everything, not just the bikes.”
However, bikes have been a problem at UT and it’s not just that some are stolen. It’s the ones that have yet to be claimed.
$300-$400 bikes covered in dust and dirt lay abandoned in a cage in West Parking Garage and Thomas.
Some have been there for eight months and some have been there even longer.
The school has no way to identify who they belong to because the bikes aren’t registered to anyone and no one has stepped forward to say they couldn’t find their bike.
“After 11 months, if the bikes are unclaimed, they are considered abandoned,” said Howell.
“The UT employees have asked if they can buy the bikes since most of them are in good condition and just need a good cleaning,” he said. Yet the school isn’t in business to take property and sell it.
However, he hinted that bike patrols on campus may be in the works.
“I would rather give them back to the owners, though,” said Howell.
And that would be simple if students registered their bikes.
It’s free and all students have to do is go online to spartanweb.ut.edu and click on campus safety.
There’s a registration form that is submitted online and the only thing students have to do is walk to the mailroom to pick up the sticker and stick it on their bikes.
“I couldn’t make it any easier,” said Howell.
Stef Crocco can be reached at Stefcroccs@yahoo.com