DU Break-ins Continue -- Cops Stay Mum and Residents Stay Worried

So, although Denver Police keep apprehending alleged burglars, the University of Denver neighborhood is still dealing with numerous break-ins.

What is going on? Several weeks ago cops nabbed a couple of suspects after cordoning off the neighborhood for several hours. Two others escaped. We never heard another word about it.

Now, Denver police arrested another guy, but (shock) are not releasing much info. They are calling him a "person of interest." Tarius Laquan Simes, 33, of Aurora was arrested early Saturday after a foot chase and manhunt near DU. He faces charges of aggravated robbery and first-degree burglary, according to a statement from police Monday. He remained in the Denver County Jail Monday on $500,000 bail.
 
According to the most recent Denver Post story,  Simes has been arrested several times on similar charges in Arapahoe County. His criminal record includes charges of theft, receiving stolen property, trespassing and identity theft. He is awaiting trial in Denver County on criminal conspiracy charges from an arrest this year, according to the story, by Post reporter Joey Bunch.

Last week another University of Denver student awoke to find a man in her bedroom Thursday morning, the third burglary of women's residences near the campus in as many weeks.The victim, who did not want her name used, said the man told her to put her head under a pillow. He had a gun, he said, and he'd shoot her if she moved. Nice.

Victims in the above case, and a previous break in at a local sorority, describe the suspect as a black man, about 5 feet 11 inches tall, wearing a hooded sweatshirt that concealed his face.

Dozens of homes have been burglarized in the DU area during the past three years, including about a dozen this year, but it's possible not all the cases are related, police have said. Local residents are increasingly edgy over the burglaries and subsequent lack of information. Worried locals are acquiring dogs and guns and are hoping for more information. 

Above is a composite sketch released by police earlier this year. Is this the guy they caught last week? Is the composite still valid? Who knows? Certainly not the people who live in the neighborhood, that's for sure.

DU Police Drama Ends -- Two Suspects Still at Large

After nearly four hours Denver Police have dispersed, so it appears that the drama near DU seems to be at an end. Cops cordoned off 16 blocks in the college neighborhood Wednesday as they searched for two male burglary suspects.

The bad news: It appears the suspects eluded capture. The good news: two other suspects are in custody.

Denver Police Spokesperson Sonny Jackson says at around 11 a.m. an off-duty officer in the area of Asbury and Lafayette spotted a suspicious vehicle. The officer believed the four people inside the vehicle were casing the homes in the area, according to Jackson. When the off-duty officer attempted to stop the vehicle at least two people took off from the car. The other two were apprehended at the scene.

 K9 units and SWAT were on hand and searched throughout the neighborhood and inside several  houses. Police units maintained a presence on every street corner andTV news crews on were on hand. Asbury Elementary School was under a modified lockdown during the police hunt.

The University of Denver neighborhood has been riddled with burglaries over the past year. Neighbors and students have expressed a lot of frustration with the ongoing crime wave. In particular students are being targeted, because they have computers, sports equipment and newer electronic equipment. Police have said that students also tend to be more lax when it comes to locking up their homes and possessions.

One DU student, who was among the crowd watching police block off streets on Wednesday, reported that discriminating burglars squeezed through the small dog door of her home one night last week and stole only Apple computers, ipod, etc. Fortunately she and her rommate were not home at the time.