Campus police stop bike theft in progress
April 7, 2016
Sacramento State campus police arrested a man on Wednesday, April 6 after a witness reported he was attempting to steal a bicycle near The Well.
At approximately 1:21 p.m. police received information of an individual, identified by police as Joel Seps, attempting to cut a bike lock. When officers made contact with Seps, who is not a student, he had burglary tools in his possession and was found to be on probation for other charges.
Seps was arrested and booked into Sacramento County Main Jail for attempted theft, possession of burglary tools and a probation violation.
According to police data, from January 2014 to February 2016 there have been a total of 191 bike thefts on campus, an average of 7.4 thefts a month. The data for the past month is above that average with 12 bike thefts reported.
Sacramento State Police Chief Mark Iwasa said in a recent interview that students should invest in U-locks because they are stronger and harder to cut, therefore there is a lesser chance bikes will be stolen.
“We are an open campus and there are people that may take advantage of that,” Iwasa said. “We are taking the extra steps to protect students and their belongings.”
Iwasa said future steps include plans for another secure bike compound near the residence halls and getting more students to register their bikes with police in the chance they are stolen, they will be easier to recover.
Updated at 8:50 p.m. on April 7 for clarity
CORRECTION: This event occurred on Wednesday, April 6, and not Thursday, April 7 as originally reported.
