Paul Ramsuchit didn’t spend his New Year’s Eve as planned.
Instead, the 20-year-old UF health sciences junior spent the afternoon driving up to Gainesville from his hometown in Orlando after Gainesville Police called to tell him that his apartment was broken into as part of a string of Winter Break burglaries.
The burglaries occurred between Dec. 14 and Dec. 26, likely at night, in two local apartment complexes, said GPD Lt. William Halvosa. TVs, Xbox consoles and jewelry were among the items taken.
Up to 11 apartments at the Estates, 3527 SW 20th Ave., and 10 apartments at Oxford Terrace, 921 SW Depot Ave., were hit, Halvosa said.
Investigators are assuming the burglaries are related because similar techniques were used to break into both apartment buildings.
Although there is no sign of forced entry, it appears the locks at the apartments were tampered with, Halvosa said.
He added that the department normally notices an increase in burglary activity during Winter Break.
“Not like this, though,” he said.
In Ramsuchit’s case, two TVs and an Apple iMac computer were stolen, along with other items owned by his roommates. He said he hopes apartment complexes will consider hiring guards to patrol during weeks when students are out of town.
A version of this story ran on page 1 on 1/6/2014 under the headline "Two communities hit with burglaries"
