Thefts on EOU Campus Lead to Arrest of Former Student

By Garrett Christensen on Thursday, March 2nd, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News

LA GRANDE – On the evening of Sunday, February 26, Eastern Oregon University experienced a break-in and attempted theft in the Daugherty Hall Dormitory. The La Grande Police Department provided the following description of the incident:

“At approximately 7:25 P.M., our officers responded to Daugherty Hall (dormitory) on the campus of EOU for a report of a person who had unlawfully entered several dorm rooms and was stealing items. Our officers arrived shortly after the call was received. Once on scene, officers learned Robert Fox Jr (33) of La Grande had entered Daugherty Hall and had unlawfully entered several dorm rooms.

He was caught leaving one of the dorm rooms with approximately $1000.00 worth of stolen items and was confronted by several college students. The students had gathered around Fox to prevent him from leaving. At one point, Fox tried to push one of the students in an attempt to flee the scene. Fox was arrested for Theft II (2 counts), Burglary (2 counts), Criminal Trespass II and Robbery III. Fox was transported and lodged into the Union County Jail. We have been working in partnership with EOU and this case is still under investigation.

Anyone who has any information about this investigation should contact Ofc. Damian Hernandez at 541-963-1017.”

According to Vice President for University Advancement Tim Seydel, who also confirmed that Fox is a former student of EOU, the Sunday incident followed a string of reported thefts and vandalisms over the weekend, stating:

“We first started identifying that there were some issues around Friday. On Saturday our response team got together, made up of some leadership folks at the university, and we discussed it with our campus security. At that time, we decided to send out an email to all of our students and folks on campus, faculty and staff, and alert them that there’d been some incidents of theft on campus.”

Both leading up to the arrest and in the days following, EOU has continued to urge students, faculty and staff to be cautious and take extra steps to keep their belongings safe. The recommendations from Seydel include:

If you park your car on campus, make sure it is locked and never leave anything of value in it. If items have to be left inside, make sure they are not visible in any way.

Lock apartments/dorm rooms at night and make sure windows are secure. Simple deterrence and inconveniences can dissuade petty crimes of opportunity.

Be aware of your surroundings and don’t take unnecessary risks such as passing through poorly lit areas when crimes have been reported recently.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to campus security at 541-962-3911 to report concerns or suspicious activity. Further, never hesitate to call 911 in case of emergency. If you see something, say something.

Seydel further emphasized the importance of clear communication via the campus alert system and the ease at which the campus community can stay informed during ongoing safety issues. Seydel even attributed the student’s actions in identifying and holding Fox in part to their ability to stay informed on campus, stating:

“The awareness on campus that we shared to let them know that there were potential incidents taking place, it ended up resulting in students working together and ensuring that when Mister Fox was on campus, he was unable to leave. So, we’re really proud of our students for doing a great job and working together. The great thing for us is they obviously read their emails and the messages that we sent to them about being aware of what was happening on campus.”

Again, the incident is still under investigation. Those with information are asked to contact Ofc. Damian Hernandez at 541-963-1017.