Joe Royo '14 and Xavius Dorego, a Providence resident with no University affiliation, were arrested early Saturday morning after allegedly stealing a student's laptop and cell phone from her Marcy House room, said Paul Shanley, deputy chief of police for the Department of Public Safety.
The theft victim, a member of Zeta Delta Xi fraternity who asked to remain anonymous for privacy reasons, said she had been asleep in her single when she woke up around 5:30 a.m. to the sight of an unknown person leaving with her laptop.
Zete member Nathan Van Winkle '13 called the Department of Public Safety after the victim knocked on his door in a panic saying someone had been in her room, he said. "DPS's response was impressive," he said, adding that officers "came in from every entrance of the house."
Van Winkle said while he was talking with officers in the lobby, he noticed two males he did not recognize as Marcy residents carrying a backpack and a laptop. "I then shouted to DPS, 'Hey! I don't think those guys live in this house,'" Van Winkle said.
The individuals were immediately detained, and Van Winkle confirmed that the laptop belonged to the victim.
Royo and Dorego were each charged with burglary, conspiracy and possession of stolen goods in value exceeding $1,500, Shanley said. Royo was also charged with possession of marijuana, he said. The two men have been arraigned in court and given court dates.
The Marcy theft was followed by a cell phone robbery in front of the Watson Institute for International Studies on Thayer Street around 11:38 p.m. Monday, according to a DPS weekly crime and incident summary. The victim, a Rhode Island School of Design student whose identity was not disclosed, was talking on her phone in front of the Watson Institute when someone grabbed it from her hand and ran away, Shanley said.
The Providence Police Department has begun an investigation, but the perpetrator has not been caught, he said.
The frequency of cell phone and laptop thefts at this point in the semester remains about the same as last year, Shanley said, adding that he urges students to exercise caution with their valuables.
