A series of book thefts have been reported at Moorpark College, with a number of the stolen books attempted to be then sold at the Off Campus Bookstore in the Campus Plaza shopping center.
Lieutenant Steve Kegley of the Moorpark campus police, says that six thefts from the Student Center have been reported so far, with three last Tuesday and three more on Thursday.
Jay Kim, the manager of the Off Campus Bookstore, says that on two different occasions a man and a women came in to sell individual text books that are usually sold prepackaged with other ones.
Due to this and a student who had come telling him of a stolen book, he refused to purchase the books from the individuals.
“”We don’t want to buy a stolen book, so we’re going to try and work it out with the police,” said Kim.
The student who reported the theft, who wishes to remain anonymous, says that her book was stolen in the downstairs bathroom in the Humanities and Social Sciences Building.
She went into the bathroom after an English class, and placed the text book on a shelf next to the sink. When they came back her book was gone.
“It’s really inconvenient,” said the student, who’s book was one of three sold in a set. “I had to buy the whole set again.”
Kegley says that they have footage from the security cameras in the student center of what appears to be another book being stolen from the cubby holes in front of the Moorpark College Bookstore.
The footage shows a women taking a book from one of the cubby holes, but with no footage of her ever placing the book there.
Kegely says that this may be the same girl who who came to Off Campus Bookstore to try to sell the book, and even may be the same one who took the one from the HSS building’s bathroom.
“It is very possible that this is the same one,” said Kegley.
This series of thefts isn’t a common occurrence, according to Kegley, and that students should take advantage of the free lockers also in front of the Moorpark bookstore in order to avoid this happening to them.
This has been the first time a number of people have tried to sell stolen books at the Off Campus Bookstore, according to Kim, who has been working at the store since it first opened.
The Off Campus Bookstore buys textbooks all semester long, as opposed to the campus book store that only buys during the beginning and end of new semester,s so while he’s not surprised that some individuals may try to sell stolen goods to him, he says his store will not buy buy them if he knows they are stolen.
“If a thief goes in there to steal a book to make a profit, I don’t think it’s totally acceptable,” said Kim.