Campus Restaurants Hit By Weekend Thefts, No Suspects

The Bear's Lair and California Sensation, two independently operated campus restaurants, were broken into by unidentified thiefs, who stole a total of nearly $3,000 in goods in the two unrelated incidents.

The crimes in the ASUC-owned Martin Luther King, Jr. Student Union have led ASUC officials to tighten security at the stores.

The thieves involved in the Bear's Lair incident tampered with the pub's northside doorway and gained entry to its interior on May 23, said ASUC Operations Manager John Rolle.

Although usually closed down, two other restaurants in the ASUC food court were open for commencement on the day of the crime, which provided the thieves access to the Bear's Lair northside entrance.

Upon entering, the thieves began using the pub's taps, said Lt. Mitch Celaya of the UC Police Department.

They opened up the pub to the public, selling alcoholic beverages for cash, said General Manager Steve Conti.

More than 30 people came to the pub for drinks that day, he said, costing the bar approximately $1,000 in beer, pub goods and apparel.

The cash register was untouched, although one of the pub's kegs was tapped out, Conti said.

Two former employees of the pub were the first to report the incident when they realized that the pub is not open for business on Sundays, Conti said.

The former employees were unavailable for comment.

Police have not yet identified any suspects and have made no arrests because the thieves dispersed before police arrived to the scene, Celaya said.

The incident at California Sensation, which Rolle says is unrelated to the Bear's Lair break-in, occurred last weekend, sometime between Friday evening and early Tuesday morning, Celaya said.

A safe full of the day's change was taken from the restaurant's kitchen, said co-owner and manager Hosam Samhori. Approximately $1,500 was lost.

The thief entered the restaurant from its north entrance, and appeared to have left from its east back entrance-the only entrance that was unlocked on Tuesday morning when Samhori arrived, he said.

Police are still investigating how the thief entered the building.

ASUC officials are now considering methods to secure the premises. The building is currently not equipped with alarms or cameras, Rolle said.

The Bear's Lair entryway in the past has been left unlocked for public access to the building's restrooms. Since the theft, it has become accessible only to managers.

"What we want to do is put some sort of barrier so the bar could be closed and we'd still have access to the bathrooms," Rolle said.

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