An unidentified man who entered Mod 24 on Sept. 24 and attempted to steal two laptop computers, was discovered in the act by a resident and then pursued by local and state authorities. The Mods resident, who preferred to remain anonymous, spotted the man in her suite at around 1 p.m. and contacted the Brandeis Police. Apparently startled, the man dropped his backpack containing the computers and ran.

According to Brandeis Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan, during the next two hours, officers from the Waltham, Weston and Massachusetts State Police, accompanied by search dogs and a police helicopter, chased after the suspect and followed numerous leads.

The Mods resident described the thief to the Daily News Tribune as a "balding black man, about 25 years old, 5-feet 7-inches tall, with a medium to heavy build ...dressed in a light-colored Eddie Bauer shirt with blue lettering and blue jeans."

Weston officers said they observed someone matching the suspect's description on Sibley Road, less than one mile from Brandeis along the MBTA commuter rail tracks. Officers also reported a sighting closer to South Street at the Brandeis/Roberts train station.

"We were getting all kinds of reports from different people," Waltham Police Detective Robert Maher said.

Officers said they believed they saw the suspect board a train at the Brandeis/Roberts train station more than once. Maher said trains were stopped and thoroughly searched. Officers also checked if the suspect was lying underneath the tracks. The suspect was not found.

"We did our thing, did our search, found nothing," said Maher. "Right now the subject is still at large and unidentified."

The Waltham police confiscated the laptops abandoned by the suspect. Mayer said processing fingerprints from a laptop is often difficult because of its surface, but can yield a clear print.

Officers are still waiting for the processing of evidence to be completed.

According to Callahan, Waltham officers showed the Mods occupants photographs of eight men, but the students were unable to identify the suspect.

Callahan said Brandeis officers conducted an extensive sweep of the Mods later during the day of the incident to ensure security mechanisms were in place. An e-mail was also sent to all Mods residents, urging them to keep their doors locked.

"The door was unlocked, people were careless," said Callahan. "That's always the common denominator in these cases."
Thief abandons loot, flees Mods, escapes police search
Both Maher and Callahan were unable to recall other similar incidents at the Mods. Callahan said members of the Brandeis community should be grateful that two municipal and one state police force responded quickly.

Callahan said, "People shouldn't take the protection afforded to them lightly."

According to Maher, the case is still open and under investigation.

If you have any information regarding this incident, contact the Brandeis police or call 781-314-3550.