Man arrested in burglary ring

Kevin King, 43, of West Philadelphia, confessed to 10 on-campus thefts. A West Philadelphia man arrested several weeks ago has been linked to an extensive on-campus theft and burglary ring, University Police officials said yesterday. On October 28 at about 10 a.m., University Police officers apprehended Kevin King, 43, after he allegedly stole several items from the Duhring Wing building at 236 S. 34th Street. Police plan to obtain arrest warrants for three other people from North Philadelphia also believed to be involved. "It was a ring of burglaries operating out of Penn," University Police Det. Supervisor Bill Danks said. According to Danks, King was taken to the Philadelphia Police Department's Southwest Detectives Bureau at 55th and Pine streets where he confessed to 10 thefts and burglaries at three campus facilities -- including Duhring, Hayden Hall at 3320 Smith Walk and the Towne Building at 220 S. 33rd Street. After interrogation, King directed both Penn and Philadelphia Police detectives to two adjacent residences on the 2300 block of Colorado Street in North Philadelphia. Based on King's information, police obtained search warrants for the locations and found a slew of electronic equipment and tools believed to be stolen from the Penn campus. Among the items seized were several computers, laptops, televisions and cameras, as well as a large quantity of power tools believed to have been stolen from construction sites on campus. The evidence was successfully connected to Penn when a University employee positively identified his laptop computer at the Southwest Detectives Bureau. Danks added that as a result of the discovery King will be charged with additional counts of theft and burglary. Some of the seized items are believed to have been stolen from the Drexel University campus as well, and University Police are currently working with Drexel's security force on the case. Danks said that anyone who is missing property from the three campus buildings can contact officials at the Southwest Detectives Bureau to see if any of the stolen items are theirs. The telephone number of the bureau is 215-686-3183. King's arrest comes less than a month after University Police nabbed a man responsible for a series of burglaries at the University City Science Center on Market Street. In that case, West Philadelphia resident Robert Brunson, 38, was caught by police and security officers after allegedly attempting to break into a Science Center building on the 3600 block of Market Street. He later confessed to 10 similar burglaries.

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