Thief smashes into ticket office

A safe located in the ticket office of the Musical Arts Center was broken into over the weekend. After several break-ins last semester and one over winter break, this is the first theft at the music school this semester.\nThe safe, which contained an undisclosed amount of money, is located inside the ticket office. \nSteve Mobley, IU supervisor of custodial staff for buildings, said a staff member reported the break-in early Monday morning.\n"One of my employees noticed (the glass) at about 2:45 a.m. and informed me about the incident," he said. "I called IUPD and told them the ticket office had been broken into."\nThe glass window in the ticket office was broken, and the door was propped open when a custodian noticed the broken glass, Mobley said.\nIU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said the theft occurred between 12:15 Sunday and 2:45 a.m. Monday. \n"First there was forced entry to the room itself, then there was forced entry into the safe," Minger said.\nAlthough the value of the stolen property was not disclosed, Royce Deckard, director of budget and finance at the physical plant office, confirmed there was money stored in the safe at the time of the theft.\n"The safe is where our money goes before it gets transported for deposit," he said. \nDeckard would not comment on the specific contents of the safe because of the ongoing investigation.\nWithin the last year, thefts at the Musical Arts Center and the IU School of Music include $1,000 in checks and cash from a lockbox, a $20,000 violin, a $5,000 violin bow, $5,400 of video equipment and cash stolen from the dean's desk of the music school.\nMinger said patrol has increased since the past thefts and will continue to be assessed following this event.\n"Since the variety of incidents, we've instituted more patrols," he said. "This specific incident hasn't caused us to increase patrol, but we will adjust patrols -- both foot and motor."\nDeckard said given recent events, students should be weary more then ever.\n"Students must safeguard their items more so than normal," he said. "No matter how safe the campus is, there are going to be things that happen every year. It just seems we've been hit harder this year."\nAnyone with information about the theft is asked to contact the IUPD at 855-4111.\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.