More than $1,800 worth of electronics and jewelry was stolen Monday from the apartment of three Northwestern students, police said.
Communication junior Joseph Gulotta, Communication senior Michael Kimberlin and a third roommate returned to their first-floor apartment on the 1900 block of Wesley Avenue at about 7:30 p.m. and saw that someone had stolen a laptop, a wireless network card, a Kodak digital camera, several DVDs and a jewelry box with jewelry inside, said Deputy Chief Joe Bellino of Evanston Police Department.
This was the second burglary to the apartment since Dec. 9.
“We don’t live in the safest neighborhood,” Gulotta said.
The students told police that they left the apartment locked with the bedroom window shut. When they returned, the bedroom window was raised and the back door was unlocked.
Gulotta said he had told the landlord about the first burglary.
“This time all my roommates’ dads called and yelled at him,” Gulotta said.
The landlord has since installed metal rods on the windows to prevent them from being forced open, Gulotta said. The landlord also told the students he will install an alarm.
The students’ insurance policy gives them six months to replace stolen goods. After the December burglary, they had begun to re-purchase their stolen goods, but some of the replacements were stolen again, Gulotta said.
“‘Elf’ got taken twice,” he said.
Gulotta said he will wait until he moves out before he buys his things again.
An apartment in the neighboring building was robbed once last school year and again in December, Gulotta said.
Monday’s robbery followed a string of incidents that occurred over NU’s winter break, Bellino said. Evanston and University Police patrolled the area in and around Foster Street, Ridge Avenue, Noyes Street and Maple Avenue while students were away, he said.
Gulotta said he noticed a police car on the street when he left for wrestling practice Tuesday, but he still does not feel safe.
“We’d leave tomorrow if we could,” he said.
Reach Daniella Cheslow at [email protected].
