IUPD nabs thief at School of Music

Former School of Music student Carl Iriel St. Jacques, 24, was arrested by an IU Police Department officer in the act of stealing a hand-held computer Thursday at Merrill Hall, and police have linked him to approximately four other thefts at the School of Music\nIUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said St. Jacques was extremely cooperative and was arrested for larceny on the spot. During interviews, St. Jacques confessed committing other larcenies at the School of Music to police.\nThe IUPD is in the process of recovering the stolen items. St. Jacques told the police he had some more property in Indianapolis he was going to bring them.\nThe School of Music has been the site of at least seven major thefts since the beginning of the school year. Minger said no connection has been established between St. Jacques and the theft of a $20,000 violin, cash profits from a performance of the "Nutcracker" and the master keys for the School of Music.\nIn response to the thefts, Minger said IUPD increased the patrol of officers at the music school and in surrounding areas. Thursday, their efforts paid off.\n"I think that it is great that there has finally been an arrest made after all of the thefts," said sophomore music performance major Arielle Hyatt. "It makes me feel a little more at ease knowing there has been an increase in police patrol and that it has finally showed results." \nHyatt said she and her classmates will breathe a little easier this week.\n"I think this arrest will definitely have other students and faculty more relaxed knowing IUPD has made a successful arrest after what seemed to be an endless ring of unsolved thefts," she said.\nSchool of Music Dean Gwyn Richards said St. Jacques was pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in performance but was not enrolled as a student in the School of Music this academic year. Richards declined to comment on further details of the case.\nAccording to a short biography of St. Jacques on www.sphinxmusic.org, he has played the viola since the age of seven and is a member of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra and the Owensboro Symphony. He was also the principal viola of the Florida All-State Orchestra and began playing at the age of 16 with the Miami Symphony Orchestra. \nSt. Jacques was also the associate dean of The Young Eight, an African American student group that helps communities, especially youths, gain exposure and education to the arts through classical music. The Young Eight performs, provides workshops and aims to promote interest in classical music in younger children.\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.