The Badger Herald: News: Police suspect student in theft

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Police suspect student in theft

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Monday, April 30, 2007 12:00 a.m.

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Police arrested a 20-year-old University of Wisconsin sophomore in connection with two burglaries that occurred early Sunday morning on the 100 block of Langdon Street.

Nathan Castner, who is suspected of stealing expensive electronics from student apartments, was found on West Gilman Street and taken to Dane County Jail Sunday. According to a release from the Madison Police Department, officers found Castner in possession of the stolen items before he was arrested.

UW senior Ryan Jelinek, whose apartment was allegedly robbed by Castner, said he and his roommates thought they had heard someone come into their apartment through a back door, but they did not find anyone when they went to inspect the noises. Later, Jelinek said he and his roommates noticed several belongings missing.

"In my room, stuff was knocked over, my computer was gone, my iPod was gone and my electric pencil sharpener was gone," Jelinek said.

The burglar also took items from Jelinek's roommates, he said, including a Playstation 2, Xbox, digital camera and another iPod.

All the stolen items were returned to their owners, including Jelinek's laptop, which was found near his home.

"One of the cops came back in our house, and she just said that they found my laptop," Jelinek said. "It was in the backyard."

Jelinek and his roommates said they did not know the burglar and were surprised to find out he was a UW student.

UW Dean of Students Lori Berquam said, if convicted, Castner could face a reprimand or be suspended for up to four semesters. The punishment will be determined by such factors as whether Castner has any prior violations.

"For students who violate other students — whether it's assault, whether it's burglary — if the impact was on other students, our code applies," Berquam said, adding that UW's code of conduct applies even if the behavior in question occurred off-campus.

However, unless UW is able to obtain the names of the violated students, the university would require those students to come forward and contact the Offices of the Dean of Students themselves and complain.

According to the MPD, another Langdon burglary was reported as Castner was being taken to jail. Castner may be a suspect in this incident as well, but the investigation is ongoing.

Jelinek said MPD officers were very helpful and responded quickly.

"When I called, I was like, 'This is dumb. I don't know why I'm calling. There's no way I'm going to get my stuff back. Who finds this kind of stuff?'" Jelinek said. "Somehow, we got all of our stuff back before the night was over."

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