Late into Sunday night, a security guard was present outside Prentice Hall as a result of the recent break-in. KATIE ROUPE | DAILY KENT STATER

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A man entered a Prentice Hall room through a window Saturday night and stole a laptop computer and a calculator, Kent State Police said.

Witnesses saw the man enter the room. They informed their resident assistant, who then called the police. There was no one in the room at the time of the break-in.

Detective Carl Sweigert said the man pried open the first floor window between 9:30 and 10:20 p.m.

Witnesses said the man left with the stolen belongings in a green or teal car that was parked in the Taylor Hall parking lot. Sweigert said the laptop was valued at $1,500, and the calculator was valued at $145.

According to police, witnesses describe the man as Caucasian in his early 20s. They said he had brown hair and no facial hair. He was wearing a yellow sleeveless T-shirt and khaki knee-length shorts.

Sweigert said students should contact police if they have any information about the break-in. The theft is under investigation.

“We would certainly hope if anyone saw anything to add to the description, they would contact campus police,” Sweigert said.

He said police are making extra patrols around Prentice Hall to prevent a similar crime from happening.

Freshman nursing major Kayla Mercilliot said she has noticed increased security patrols in the building.

“It’s different having them there,” she said. “It makes people more nervous, I think.”

Last night a campus security aide was positioned near Prentice Hall and the Taylor Hall parking lot.

Campus security manager Brian Hellwig could not be reached for comment, and it’s unknown exactly why a security aide was stationed there.

Prentice Hall residents had mixed reactions to the break-in.

Freshman psychology major Tricia Chamberlain said residents have to be more careful.

“That sucks, but we all have valuables,” Chamberlain said. “If you live on the first floor, you should keep your windows closed.”

Renee Furrer, freshman deaf education major, said she lives on the first floor.

“It doesn’t really bother me,” Furrer said. “When we leave, we close our windows.”

Alice Ickes of the Kent State Police Department said this incident is a “classic example” of break-ins to first floor residences.

“Students living on the first floor should keep things out of plain view, close their windows and keep blinds and draperies closed,” Ickes said.

She added that small valuables are the items most likely to be stolen.

Sweigert said students should always call police if they see anything suspicious around campus.

The burglarized room’s resident could not be reached for comment.

Contact safety reporter Kevin Gareau at [email protected].