By Samantha NeudorfAssistant News Editor
In the midst of the burglary crisis in the residence halls, victims of stolen property have found closure knowing that the alleged burglars are paying for their crimes.
Detective James Gilroy of the Nassau County Police Dept. reopened the burglaries and traced the thefts back to basketball players Jimmy Hall, Shaquille Stokes, Kentrell Washington and Dallas Anglin. Two days later, the men were arrested.
Junior Alexa Alvey, public relations and creative writing major, felt justice was served when the four basketball players were arrested on counts of burglary and theft.
Alvey recounted that on Thursday, Oct. 4, she discovered her Macbook Pro was stolen from her Nassau Hall room. She is a resident assistant on the sixth floor.
Alvey had left her room unlocked believing both her suitemates were not planning to leave the room and went to visit a friend. About an hour later, Alvey received various phone calls and text messages from her suitemates saying that there was a problem.
Alvey said that her other suitemate Angela discovered her iPod and some money were stolen from her wallet while she was in the shower. She had left her room open. As she returned, she ran into Washington and Anglin walking away from her room.
One of Alvey’s suitemates was friends with Jimmy Hall and had let him into the room. Hall was accompanied by Washington and Anglin, two other basketball players on the Hofstra men’s team.
According to Alvey, Washington asked, “Oh, you live here?” and pointed to her room. She said that she did and became suspicious. The three boys immediately left.
Alvey said she ran back to her room and found that her laptop was missing from her desk. She and her suitemates called the RA on duty in Nassau and Public Safety.
The basketball players were brought in to Public Safety for questioning and were let go because none of the items were recovered. Alvey and her suitemate gave recounts to the Nassau County Police Dept. and were sent home as well.
Alvey was in contact with Public Safety and a detective from NCPD, but she started to think that nothing was going to be done.
“I began to assume that it was going to be a lost cause because my parents and I had questions as to why they couldn’t search their [the basketball players’] rooms,” Alvey said. “It seemed to us that their hands were tied.”
The athletics department did not help either. Hofstra basketball coach Mo Cassera declined any conversation with Alvey because there was an ongoing investigation.
“It seemed that they [the athletics department] were hiding something from the get-go to me because I had to twist arms to get people to speak to me,” Alvey said.
Over a month later, Alvey was on the train headed into the city when she found out from one of her residents that the basketball players were arrested.
“It was so satisfying to be able to know that they did not get away with what they did. That they are not walking free and there are consequences,” Alvey said. “What they did was absolutely wrong, what they did is disgusting, and I, for one, am very glad that they are now paying for it.”
