The Department of Campus Safety (DCS) sent out a crime alert on Wednesday, Oct. 23, to inform the DU community that Mark Stephan Moore has been identified as a suspect in several cases of theft on campus.
According to Crime Prevention Officer Stephen Banet, these thefts have mostly included laptops, smart phones, purses and wallets. He said the thefts have mostly occurred in academic or administrative buildings. Items are usually taken from faculty or staff offices that have been left open during a lunch or restroom break.
“These are definitely crimes of opportunity,” said Banet.
Moore was caught on a surveillance camera on Monday, Oct. 21, stealing a cell phone from the Iliff School of Theology. He is described as a 55-year-old African American male, approximately 5 feet 11 inches in height and 150 pounds in weight. According to the alert, he is usually neatly dressed and carrying a backpack or messenger bag. He sometimes wears sunglasses on top of his head.
Moore was implicated in seven cases of theft on campus last year. On Oct. 30, 2012, the Clarion reported Moore had been identified as a suspect in cases dating back to July 1. On Dec. 18 of last year, DCS arrested Moore after receiving a tip call from a staff member in Sturm Hall.
According to Banet, Moore served time in jail following his arrest. After he was released, he was arrested and jailed a second time. Moore has a criminal history of shoplifting, forgery, assault, identity theft and parole violation, and currently has several warrants out for his arrest.
“He never resists,” said Banet. “He runs, but he doesn’t fight. He doesn’t take anything by force, which would be a robbery. He’s nonviolent.”
Banet believes Moore is hard to catch because he does not have a physical address or a car. He speculated Moore uses the light rail or other public transportation. In the past, Moore has also targeted the Denver Tech Center (DTC) and hotels downtown.
From Sept. 1 to Oct. 23 there have been 44 reported cases of theft on campus with a total of 51 victims. Banet said other suspects have been identified and apprehended in some of these cases.
“We’ve had numerous reported thefts from the Ritchie Center in the last couple weeks because people don’t secure their valuables in the lockers,” said Banet. “Due to some pretty good surveillance work by one of our officers, we were able to apprehend the parties involved and get back a lot of items that had been taken.”
Banet said in this case the suspects were minors who were not affiliated with DU in any way. DCS held them for the Denver Police Department (DPD), who issued them summons into court and released them to their guardians.
“They were trespassed from campus, which means if they dare come back again they’ll go to jail for that,” said Banet. “That’s pretty standard for juvenile cases, and usually it’s very effective.”
Banet said that after a suspect is identified, he likes to go to buildings and talk to as many faculty and staff members as he can to brief them about what the suspect looks like and what they are doing.
“I’ve been Crime Prevention Officer for eight years, and I find the grassroots approach works,” said Banet.
A map of campus thefts reported this academic year:
