A Butler student’s electric scooter was stolen from campus on Sept. 17 and recovered on Sept. 20 through a staged Facebook Marketplace meetup with the Butler University Police Department (BUPD). An arrest has been made and the case sent to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.
In the evening on Sept. 17, the student locked up his scooter outside Irvington House and walked to I-lot and back. When he arrived back at his dorm, the scooter was missing, with the lock broken on the ground. The scooter had been purchased by the student only a week prior.
Butler recommends that students register their scooters and other devices to assist in the investigative process in case of theft. The serial number of the device will be recorded when registered. If an item does go missing, students are encouraged to report it by calling BUPD to file a police report.
After discovering the scooter listed on Facebook Marketplace, the student got in touch with BUPD’s criminal investigations officer Jeffrey Wager to assist in the investigation and retrieval of the scooter. The student did not have the scooter’s serial number on file, and the company it was purchased from, iScooter, claimed they could not provide it.
A meetup was arranged at Hinkle Fieldhouse, and the student waited with Wager inside his unmarked car. The suspect arrived with the scooter on foot and fled when questioned, prompting a chase involving Wager and several other police cars.
The student was able to connect to the scooter using his phone, and the suspect was apprehended by the police and taken into custody.
Wager mentioned in an email statement to The Butler Collegian that this is an active criminal case involving a juvenile and further information can not be disclosed.
“This incident did involve a juvenile, therefore much of the case that would identify the juvenile cannot be discussed,” Wager stated. “Because this is an active criminal case, all information regarding [the case] can only be released by the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.”