Crime busters awarded for act
Ryan Tubongbanua / The Collegian
Traffic Operation Officers Mervin Roman and Rick Reyes were honored with an award for stopping a car break in just before it happened. |
By Monica Nungaray
The Collegian
It’s not every day that two traffic operation officers stop a crime dead in its tracks.
That’s what happened to Traffic Operation Officers Mervin Roman and Rick Reyes on Feb. 16 when they prevented the burglary of a student’s vehicle in parking lot V near the Smittcamp Alumni House.
They later received an Award of Merit at the annual California College and University Police Chief’s Associaton on April 13.
Roman said he was patrolling Lot V when he noticed two juveniles “zigzagging” through the vehicles.
“Once they saw me they tried to leave the area, and when they couldn’t get the car out of gear I knew I had to react,” Roman said.
Roman radioed for backup, and Traffic Operations Officer Rick Reyes was able to pull his off-road cart behind the suspects.
“When I saw that they had rubber gloves we told them to get out the car,” Roman said.
Roman said the teenage boys looked scared after they were caught. The officers said the juveniles were carrying a shaved vehicle key, screwdrivers and bricks. The officers said the juveniles confessed they wanted to steal and burglarize the vehicles.
Roman and Reyes said they immediately radioed for the University Police, and all four of the juveniles were taken into custody. They are facing felony charges. The police said they were found to be validated gang members.
Chief of Police David Huerta said the incident serves as a warning.
“It takes just seconds to break a window of a car and even less time to steal possessions out from the vehicle, and there is a finite number of enforcement,” Huerta said.
The car the juveniles were in was stolen and taken from the parking lot at Fresno State earlier that month, the officers said.
“We don’t really have these kinds of offenses on campus. We do have burglary and thefts but not to this magnitude,” Huerta said.
To prevent theft and burglary, Huerta said people should be on the lookout in the parking lots. Since the university police cannot be everywhere at once it is important for students, faculty and staff to look for any suspicious acts and report them immediately to campus police.
“It’s our primary mission to take care of students. That’s out job,” Huerta said.
Roman and Reyes said they developed their eye for detail to find suspicious looking people. The time paid off, Huerta said.
“That type of training and experience was particularly valuable in this situation,” Huerta said.
The award of merit given to officers Roman and Reyes was for their outstanding performance in the line of duty, throughout the state of California. Both officers said they are appreciative of their award.
“It felt great. It was good for the heart,” Roman said. “It just felt great to be recognized. I hope students learn that leaving their valuable possessions in plain sight just benefits the burglars.”
Roman and Reyes said their primary duty is to cite vehicles that are breaking the rules of the campus.
“I feel that students views of us is just to handout citations, but we look for situations that can be avoided,” Reyes said.
Aman Athwal, a liberal studies major and Kevin Kato, a recreation and leisure studies major said the situation shows the campus police do more than just hand out parking tickets.
“Its good to know we are being protected, sometimes I think we forget that,” Kato said.
The campus police’s rapid response increased his trust in the campus police, Kato said.
“Our officers seem to be extensively trained in preventing vandalism. I don’t think that burglaries will stop on campus but at least we have the police force to keep an eye on it,” Kato said.
Huerta said he was extremely proud of his staff.
“I’m so confident there is nothing that this staff cannot handle. They are bright and energetic people and can think on their feet,” Huerta said.
Huerta said he makes sure his staff knows they are important.
“Everyone is meaningful in an equal way. We perform different jobs but all for the same reason. I’m very proud of Rick and Mervin, they went above and beyond but that doesn’t mean that anyone else is less important. It’s just their time to shine,” Huerta said.
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