'Shoe burglar' targets student houses

Several student houses have been the target of a burglar in recent weeks, but instead of taking electoronics and other valuables, the intruder has taken only shoes and pictures of men.

Newark police say the burglaries, which occurred over the holiday break on East Park Place and Wollaston Avenue, are most likely the work of one person.

"We've never had a shoe burglar before," said Lt. Brian Henry. "But back in the 1990s, we had a guy who was breaking into apartments and stealing women's underwear. From time to time you do get specialty burglaries."

In each incident, Henry said, the suspect either entered through an unlocked window or broke into a rear door. Once inside, he searched the bedrooms and took men's shoes and photos depicting men.

Three of the burglaries occurred on Dec. 26 between 3:30 and 4:30 a.m. in the first block of East Park Place. Another occurred between Dec. 28 and 30 in the 100 block of East Park Place. The last occurred between Dec. 31 and Jan. 3 in the 700 block of Wollaston Avenue.

All of the victims are college age and most are university students, Henry said.

The suspect is described as 5 feet, 9 inches tall with a stocky build and wearing a black wool pea coat. He was seen leaving one of the crime scenes in a newer-model, yellow Mitsubishi Eclipse with a Delaware license plate.

Police are asking anyone with information about the crime to contact Det. Fred Nelson at (302) 366-7110 ext 136 or Frederick.Nelson@cj.state.de.us.  Information can also be reported anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333, where a reward may be available.