Police were searching for a man who allegedly stole a female Sacramento State student’s purse this morning on the fourth floor of Parking Structure II.

The student had the purse tucked under her arm and was approached by a man, who took the purse and then fled the parking structure. The student was not injured.

Public information officer Kelly Clark said that police would have a hard time locating the suspect since the student did not report the crime promptly. She was robbed at 9:30 a.m. and failed to contact police until 1:20 p.m., nearly four hours later. Clark said that blue emergency phones are located throughout the parking structures and provide a direct line to the police department.

“Quite frankly we don’t really catch people very often going right to the crime scene and fingerprinting,” Clark said. “How we catch them is at a later time in possession of stolen property.”

Police described the suspect as a white male in his twenties with a bald head, between five feet six inches and five feet nine inches tall, and between 180 and 190 pounds.

Earlier this semester a student’s laptop was stolen while walking in the sixth floor of Parking Structure III in the afternoon. Police arrested one of the two suspects in that incident.

Clark said that crimes tend to happen in the parking structures because of the high concentration of vehicles, empty areas with few witnesses, and places where criminals can conceal themselves and surprise students. He said students could prevent crime by being aware of their surroundings and not parking in unlit areas. He said that typically thefts are crimes of opportunity, which can be avoided.

Anyone with information can contact the Sacramento State Police Department by phone at (916) 278-6851, by emailing [email protected] or at the public counter in the Public Safety Building. Information can be given anonymously.

Sam Pearson can be reached at [email protected]