Prowler spotted Friday with knife near Sobrato lot

By Rachel Schwartz

A suspicious man carrying a knife was spotted by several students lurking near the Sobrato parking lot early Friday morning.

The man was described by Campus Safety as a white male in his early 20s, around 5 feet 10 inches, with a skinny build and long blonde hair. Students described him as wearing dark pants, a black hooded sweatshirt and a dark, knit beanie cap.

This is the third incident of prowling reported to Campus Safety in a week. A student walking on Lafayette Street near Nobili Hall reported being followed on Tuesday by a man, who Campus Safety was unable to locate.

Sunday night, two men were spotted loitering near the Benson Memorial Center loading docks.

One man was apprehended and cited for prowling and being drunk in public and was described as "somewhat matching" the description of the suspicious person reported earlier.

Three students saw the man who was loitering in the Sobrato parking lot just after 4 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 12 as they were returning to campus from Park Avenue.

One student reported to Campus Safety that the man seemed to be carrying a knife, while the other two were unsure. By the time the students reported the encounter and Campus Safety responded, the man could not be located.

The late hour of the incident and the fact that the man may have been armed prompted Jeanne Rosenberger, vice provost for student life, to send out a university-wide e-mail following a request from Charlie Arolla, director of Campus Safety Services.

Because only one student reported seeing a knife and the other students did not confirm having seen a knife, Arolla chose to describe it only as a "shiny object" in the e-mail.

"The purpose of the e-mail was to notify the campus of the incident and to serve as a reminder of how important it is to be able to contact us," Arolla said.

There was a blue emergency phone nearby, but the students used a pay phone in the Safeway parking lot after unsuccessfully attempting to contact Campus Safety by cell phone.

The e-mail encouraged students to program the Campus Safety phone number into their cell phones.

"It speeds up the process of notifying us when people have our number on hand," Arolla said.

As a result of the e-mail, Arolla received a report from another student who believed that they had seen the same person outside of Casa Italiana on a different date.

Santa Clara police was notified of the incident and increased patrols were requested for that area.

"In regards to any kind of suspicious activity, the beat officer assigned to that location will make more patrol checks," said Lt. Mike Sellers, a police spokesman.

If the increased police presence does not result in an arrest, it can help deter suspicious activity in the area, Sellers said.

Contact Rachel Schwartz at (408) 554-4546 or rschwartz@scu.edu.