Police track down supected VCR thief

By Sara Taverna, Forty-Niner Online
Sept. 18, 1995

University Police at Cal State Long Beach Wednesday received crime lab results linking a burglary suspect to past videocassette recorders thefts on campus.

Anthony Guy Webster, 33, was arrested Aug. 20 when campus police arrived at Parkside Commons to find him locked in a room after an alarm was tripped off through a motion detector, police said.

As police arrived at the dormitory, Webster was in the progress of unplugging the cord to a VCR, said police Officer Focht.

After arresting the suspect, police were able to compare Webster's fingerprints at the dormitory to the ones taken at another burglary scene on July 25 in the Home Economics Building.

With the evidence found, police will charge Webster with both crimes, Focht said.

Police said 22 VCR's have been stolen from campus since the end of last semester, Focht said. Police reported no forced entries in the first few incidents.

As disappearing VCR's continued to fill police reports, all campus equipment was being locked up and used only by faculty who had permission, police said.

The Community Service Officers are also helping out with tightened security around campus. They are escorting students and patrolling the campus on bikes. The CSOs are now on campus during the weekend.

Webster has been seen wandering around campus in the past, police said. Although he had been questioned, police said they have had no evidence before to arrest him.