One car was stolen, several cars were broken into and various items were stolen from the Senior Apartment parking lot and residences at Claremont McKenna College (CMC) on the morning of Thursday, Jan. 25.
Members of the 7C community were first informed of the crime in an email on Jan. 27, two days after the thefts took place. The email, sent by The Claremont Colleges Services Campus Safety, stated that three female subjects drove into the CMC Senior Apartment parking lot at 5:44 a.m. on Jan. 25.
They then stole “several items from parked vehicles” before one suspect broke into and drove off with a vehicle, escalating the crime to a grand theft auto.
The email contained five images of the crime that had been obtained through security footage. These images showed suspects entering the parking lot, exiting their car and holding several bags and unidentifiable objects.
While the Senior Apartment parking lot does have a gated entrance that is only accessible to residents through the scanning of their student ID cards, the gate was broken prior to Jan. 25, according to residents.
The suspects took bags, sunglasses, shoes, power cords, a hand-held vacuum cleaner and more from the car of Alex Towers CM ’24, which was parked at the Senior Apartment lot the night of the incident.
Towers, on her way to class Thursday morning, opened her already unlocked car and noticed the missing items. Towers said she immediately knew it had been broken into after seeing the components of her glove compartment strewn throughout the inside of her car. Everything that was in the trunk of the car had been taken. Later, she said she realized that other items had been stolen as well.
“I felt violated,” Towers said. “It was kind of a feeling I don’t really have here at CMC.”
Adrian Bustamante CM ’25 was also a victim of the thefts. On Monday, Jan. 29, Campus Security notified Bustamante that items had been stolen from his car, as was identified in security footage of a suspect searching his trunk. In addition to his proof of registration and proof of insurance, Bustamante’s clothes, laundry detergent and dryer sheets were stolen.
Bustamante said that Campus Safety spotted the suspect going “from car to car” and “checking anything that was unlocked.”
The day of the theft, Bustamante’s car was having a mechanical issue in which his key couldn’t lock his door. Bustamante decided to leave his car unlocked in the meantime, assuming nothing would get stolen.
“That’s at least the mindset that I have,” he said. “Or, I had.”
The student whose car was stolen declined to interview for this article.
Senior Apartment resident Nathaniel Worley CM ’24 explained that many items placed outside of the apartments were stolen as well. After the notification was emailed, residents in a Senior Apartment group chat started to message about personal items they realized had gone missing. Several students were missing scooters and bikes. Worley lost his water bottle.
Because of its small, tight-knit community, Worley explained that individuals unaffiliated with the Claremont Colleges could be easily identifiable in a residence hall or community setting. However, CMC is not immune to criminal incidents, despite 24/7 security and student-only access to facilities. There were 10 burglaries and 13 motor vehicle thefts in 2022, according to CMC’s most recent Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. In 2021, there were six burglaries and two motor vehicle thefts.
“I think we have a great system here, but there are always going to be things that happen,” Towers said.
The report also provides a list of suggestions that students can take to avoid theft. These include locking doors when spaces are not in use, locking valuables and attending to electronic devices. Worley emphasized the importance of following these suggestions.
“College is partly getting a sense of what the real world is like,” said Worley. “Most places that you live, you shouldn’t just be leaving stuff outside.”
The Claremont Police Department, who was notified about the case by Campus Safety after students made initial reports of the theft, is currently investigating the case.
Facebook Comments