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Sam Penrod Reporting A man who passed himself off as a college student and then ripped off his roommates, will be going to jail for a long time. This summer the man ran his scheme at BYU, before being arrested doing the same thing on a college campus in Idaho.
Josh Shelley left Provo and is believed to have gone to BYU Idaho in Rexburg, before he was arrested a few days later at Idaho State in Pocatello. Now he has worked out a plea deal in Idaho, but still faces charges in Utah County.
Josh Shelley showed up to Provo this summer with an Irish accent and seemed like a cool roommate, claiming he'd recently returned from an LDS mission. That was until his roommates came home a couple of days later and found Shelley had taken all of their valuables.
Now Idaho prosecutors say Shelley will plead guilty to a similar scheme there, then face charges in Colorado and then here in Utah.
While Shelley's scheme to steal from roommates is getting a lot of attention, Provo Police say students need to realize college age people are being quietly victimized every day, simply by not locking their doors.
Capt. Rick Healey, Provo Police Dept: "I've already read a couple of cases today just on roommates who left their doors open and laptops were stolen out of their apartments."
With school now back in session, police say theft cases are on the rise.
Capt. Rick Healey, Provo Police Dept: "We've been trying to figure out what to do about that, because this is a daily thing. We get case after case where roommates leave their doors unlocked and someone walks in and takes the laptops."
Police say many students forget their keys and don't want to be locked out, and with several roommates coming in and out, it can be easy for thieves to find a moment when no one is home.
Another way students can protect themselves is to keep track of serial numbers of their valuables.
Capt. Rick Healey, Provo Police Dept: "If they can keep track of their laptops, their cameras, video cameras, watches, anything that has value, a value to it, so there's some identifying mark that we can connect back to them."
Something else police say students should be suspicious of is what's known as the 'wrong apartment trick.' That's where if a thief is caught, they will claim to be in the wrong apartment. Police say students should call them and get a license plate of the car the person is in.
