University police and Associated Students of UCLA security are
investigating the recent burglary of what police say may have been
thousands of dollars worth of textbooks.
Primary suspects in the case were recently released from police
custody.
Police reports say that Aaron Llorens and Jonathan Taylor were
arrested on Aug. 9, about two weeks after textbooks were stolen
from Ackerman Union, and then reportedly sold at another
university.
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department,
charges against a third person arrested were dropped Aug. 12.
Llorens and Taylor face charges of misdemeanor and felony burglary,
respectively, and are out on bail, according to the sheriff’s
department.
A UCPD report stated that pictures and two videotapes were
booked as evidence in a burglary on July 27 at 4 p.m., when,
according to police, $22,000 worth of textbooks were stolen from
Ackerman.
Gene Robinson, head of loss prevention at ASUCLA, said he did
not believe that figure reflects the accurate value of what was
stolen, though.
Robinson said while there was a shortage, other reasons could
explain for a high amount of reported inventory loss. Some of the
loss may be due simply to clerical error, he said.
Because the investigation is pending, specific details about the
alleged crime were not available, Robinson said.
Nancy Greenstein, director of police community services for
UCPD, said the suspects were reportedly selling the stolen
textbooks at UC Irvine.
Ana Sarmiento, a student loss prevention officer at UCI, said
she was suspicious of three young men she saw selling books back to
her school a few weeks ago.
“I remember they had these two huge duffel bags, and had
their books in there,” she said.
Sarmiento added that the three had multiple copies of one book,
which she said was unusual for students.
Sarmiento said after the three left, an officer from UCLA called
her department, asking if it had experienced any unusually high
transactions.
She said the suspects described in the Ackerman theft case
sounded like the three young men she had just seen at UCI,
especially because of their duffel bags.
Sarmiento said the three returned to UCI with duffel bags full
of more textbooks. Her managers told the three they would not buy
any more books from them, and they left, she said.
Sarmiento said UCI officials took down a license plate number
from a car the young men drove.
According to a UCPD report, the three suspects were arrested
when they were pulled over near UCLA. When they were arrested,
duffel bags were found in the car, according to police reports.
Greenstein said the suspects were not students at UCLA or
UCI.
After being arrested, the suspects were transferred to the
Sheriff’s West Hollywood Division, where they stayed until
they were released.