Frodulent Checks

A staff member reported that fake CSULB checks were attempted to be passed and cashed.

On April 21, CSULB staff was contacted by Wells Fargo Bank and was informed that they received checks that had similar markings to that of a Cal State Long Beach check.  The bank quickly discovered that the checks were fake and the checks were ultimately not cashed.

The Financial aid offices is one of the places where CSULB checks are given.  It is not known if this is where suspects got the checks.  Photo taken by Cesar Mondragon

Suspects forged a total of ten checks and the the total amount was in excess of $75,000.  According to the police report, there is no information on what the suspects wanted to purchase or if they have any connection to the University.  Captain Solorzano of the University Police says " some of the checks have surfaced out of state such as Pennsylvania and New York."  No arrests have been made

Felony Burglaries

A couple of Cal State Long Beach staff members had some of their property stolen from their offices.


 A staff member reported to the University Police on April 8, that he had left his office (#9 of the Physical Education Building), at noon.  When he came back to his office an hour later at 1:00 pm, he found that his mouse, keyboard, and computer monitor were stolen from his desk.  The monitor was a Dell twenty-inch wide screen worth about $500.

Captain Solorzano said that the reporting party "desires a prosecution for the guilty party."



A similar incident happened in Parking Structure 1 between the hours of 4 and 5 pm on April 20.  A staff member had left his cellphone, a HTC EVO in his office.  He came back within an hour and upon his return he could not locate his phone which is valued at $400 dollars.   Nothing suspicious was seen and no arrests have been made.

Somebody is enjoying the perks that come with the phone and it's not the rightful owner.  Photo taken by Cesar Mondragon

More Labtop thefts

A CSULB student and faculty member experienced thefts within four days of each other. 

On April 14, a female student reported a theft of her lab top to the University Police at 4:57 pm.  The reporting party told authorities that theft happened between the hours of 3:15 pm to 3:50 pm.  The female student forgot her dark grey Acer (lab top) in room 28 of the University Theatre building.  When she realized she had forgotten her property, which was about 35 minutes later, she rushed back to the room but the lab top was nowhere to be found. 

This is a lab top similar to the one that was stolen. Valued at $400.  Photo Taken by Cesar Mondragon

"You would think that a University would be the last place you have to worry about your stuff being stolen,  I guess not" said freshman Lawrence White.  The reporting victim did not see anything suspicious and the case has been forwarded to investigators.



On April 18, there was another lab top stolen, this time the victim was a CSLUB faculty member.  The Police responded to a call of  theft at 4:45 pm.  The reporting party told officers that he had left his Mac book Pro, valued at $1,500, in his office which was  room 108 of the Fine Arts building.  He was gone for ten minutes to use the bathroom and when he returned he found that his property was missing.

A thief is surely enjoying the perks of their new lab top.  Photo taken by Cesar Mondragon

Captain Fernando Solorzano has advice for  people who own lab tops in CSLUB.  "Do not leave computers unattended, always secure your property if you're going to leave the area."

Auto Burglary

An automobile has been broken into at a parking lot on the CSULB campus.  It happened in parking lot 18 between 10:00 am and 12:00 noon on April 15.

This is Parking lot 18 where the theft took place.  Photo Taken by Cesar Mondragon

A Chevrolet Tahoe was the target and a 3rd row bench seat was what was taken.  Investigators say that an uknown suspect broke into the side passanger door and removed the 3rd row seat.

This is a common Chevy Tahoe bench seat valued at $1,000.  Photo taken by Consumerguideauto.com

"They stole a bench seat?" asked student Walter Reeves, "it's really weird thing to steal, on the other hand, it could be a good practical joke."  The owner of the vehicle did not see anything suspicious and the case has been forwarded to police investigators.

Burglary at The Beach

A CSULB staff member has reported a burglary that took on the CSULB campus.  The reporting party left his office, which is located in room A-105 of the Music building, on March 24, at approximately 5:30 pm.  He locked his desk and secured his office before left.  Twelve days later, on April 5, at 9:30 am, he found that his desk had been broken into and his possessions were gone.    He reported the robbery on April 17, and at this point it is not known why he decided to wait for almost three weeks.


This digital camcorder was the most expenisve item that was stolen valued at $199.

Samsung SMX-f34 and battery.  Photo taken of cnet.com

Other items were also missing to go along with the camcorder which consisted of  an extra battery, a bag for the camcorder, an external hardrive, an audio recorder and a memory card.  If not found, these items are estimated to potentially be a $672 loss. 

"The victim did not give anybody permission to borrow his belongings" says Captain Fernando Solorzano ".....he did not see anything suspicious and there are no suspects at this time."  Students like Joaquin Reyes are shocked at the news, "Wow, that's pretty serious stuff right there,  I mean, this was well thought out and planned.  Never thought anything like this would happen around here."

Theft in a Classroom

Classrooms at CSLUB are no longer safe for personal belongings, at least not for one student.  On March 22, a Student reported his Apple Macbook Pro stolen.  The Labtop valued at $400 was left in a bag on the side of a  desk in room 105 of the Fine Arts Building and was taken between 3:40 pm and 3:50 pm.  Captain Solorzano said that the reporting party "did not give anyone permission to take his labtop." 

This is what the stolen property looks like.  Photo by Cesar Mondragon

The student did manage to see a suspicious male leaving as he was going back to retrieve his bag.  He describes him as being:

                             -An Asian male
                             -Early twenties
                             -About 5'6
                             -Medium Build
                             -Short Black Hair

If you have any information regarding this case, you should definitely contact the campus police

Bikes Gone Missing

A series of bike thefts have been reported throughout campus over the past week.  On March 21, between the hours of 3:30 pm and 6:30 pm a student reported his bicycle stolen.  The bike, which is a red, white, and black Trek, model 1.1 and valued at an estimated $850, was left at the North Side Bike Rack located at the SSP A Building locked with a cable lock.  When the student came back, the bike was gone and only the broken lock remained.  "It doesn't even come to mind while I'm locking up my bike" said Mike Reyes a bike owner.  "I'm gonna have to be more careful now."  No arrests have been made.

These bikes are safe, for now......   Photo taken by Cesar Mondragon

Two other bicycles were reported stolen on March 24.  A female student locked her gray GT Zoom with a cable lock on the South side bike rack of building LA 1.  Her bicycle valued at $220 was stolen between 11:00 am and 9:00 pm.  Meanwhile, on parking lot 15 next to the College of Business Building,  a male student reported his Schwin Tours to be stolen.  This bicycle was stolen between 2:00 pm and 4:30 pm.  All the student found when he came back was his broken cable lock.  No arrests have been made or bikes been found for either case.

If you haven't noticed by now, the one thing that all these thefts have in common is that they have all been locked by a cable lock.  Captain Solorzono has noticed this trend too and has advice for students that use bicycles around CSULB.  "Students to invest in a U-lock instead of a cable lock to help deter bike thieves."  He also mentioned that bikes around campus can be registered.  "It's like a license plate for your car.  A number goes into a database and if it's found, it can be returned to it's rightful owner."  These registrations are $5 and can be done at the University Police Substation.

All victims found was a cable lock similar to this, but broken.   Photo by Cesar Mondragon

U-Locks like this one take more time to break.  Photo By Cesar Mondragon

Tresspasing and Ressisting

A couple trespassers have been arrested and booked at the Long Beach Police department after a background check showed an arrest warrant for the one of the suspects.  On March 21, the University Police received a call regarding a trespasser near the Residential Learning College of the Cal State Long Beach campus.  It was determined that one of the trespassers, a female, was a former resident of the college which had been subsequently revoked by housing.  She was detained along with a male companion and a warrant check then revealed that there was an arrest warrant of $30,000 for petty theft on her record.

This is where the intruders were seen. 

The suspects male companion, was not fully cooperating with the police however.  Not only was he giving false statements but also refused to sit down when he was told to do so and instead tried to enter the room where they were trespassing in.  At one point the male suspect began to move closer toward the police officer and this prompted then to use force.  When he began to resist, backup was called.  "One of the officers is now experiencing back pain due to their little scuffle." said Lieutenant Scot Willey.  "It looked she was trying to get her stuff, but the guy was acting stupid." said Valerie Contreras a student.  Both suspects have been taken to jail.

Theft at the Nugget

A CSULB student is now without some of his most prized possessions and is left with only questions after his gym bag was stolen at The Nugget Grill and Pub located on campus.  On March 17, a bag which contained 2 Macbooks, 1 cannon Camera, WESC headphones and some cash, was apparently left by the dining area of The Nugget as the Student returned he found the bag to be gone.



This is the apparent robbery took place.  Photo Taken by Cesar Mondragon



A total loss of $3,570 is what is being estimated.  Some students were shocked to find out about the theft.  Amanda Reynolds, a frequent visitor of The Nugget said "It's a real shame that someone would do that, knowing that we are all struggling college students.  I feel bad for the guy."  Other students like Robert Segura feel puzzled about the victims carelessness.  "That's alot of fancy stuff to be carrying around.  I sure as hell, wouldn't be leaving lying around anywhere, not even for a second."  At this time no arrests have been made.



Why Crime?

When I learned about this assignment, I immediately thought about focusing on crime.  Crime itself is an interesting topic, but with drew me initially was the campus aspect of it.  I want to find out what kind of criminal behavior takes place in a southern California college campus.  This blog will focus on the crime that takes place at the Cal State Long Beach campus.   With a brief sypnosis' of cases, detailed descriptions of  suspects and interviews with students and police officers I hope to provide an in-depth look into the criminal activity that transpires on  campus.  Not only will a provide the criminal events on a case by case basis, but also ad tips that will be provided to my by the campus police to help you be more safe and prevent anything that could be deemed as harmful. in any.  I will meet with Captain Fernando Solorzano on a regular basis, discuss the cases in detail and eventually bring them to you my readers.

Captain Fernando Solorzano of the University Police. Photo Taken by Jennie Kropp