Students arrested in connection with campus bookstore thefts

• Lindsay Law / News Asst. Editor
• posted: 20 Feb 2007
• scrollnews@byui.edu

On Feb. 14, two international BYU‑Idaho students and a former student were arrested and charged with stealing books from the BYU‑Idaho Bookstore and reselling them over the Internet, according to a press release from the BYU‑Idaho Division of the Rexburg Police Department.

Approximately 200 textbooks were recovered by police officers, and officers would not say whether the books had been stolen during or after bookstore hours.

Humphery Sinyangwe, a sophomore from Lusaka, Zambia, was charged with six felony counts of burglary. Bronson Chikusu, a freshman also from Zambia, was charged with four counts of burglary.

Both are being held in the Madison County jail, under $150,000 and $100,000 bonds, respectively.

Andrew Sinyangwe, a former BYU‑I student from Lusaka, Zambia, is being held in the Utah County Jail in Spanish Fork, Utah, under $50,000 bond.

Capt. Garth Gunderson, of the BYU‑Idaho Campus Police, said the police had the three individuals under surveillance for about three weeks before the arrests were made Wednesday.

In addition to the recent charges, the men may be charged with other bookstore thefts committed last fall.

We wanted to make sure the arrests stopped [the bookstore’s] losses and stopped the risk of the students fleeing jurisdiction because of their international student status, Gunderson said. We will continue to increase efforts in trying to recover books that have already been sold on some popular Internet Web sites.

Doug Mason, manager of the BYU‑Idaho Bookstore, said that the bookstore will increase security in response to the recent thefts.

We are going to improve a few things that will discourage people from doing that again, Mason said.

Gunderson warned students that there are surveillance cameras in the bookstore and to be aware of the security measures there.

I would advise people that think the bookstore is an easy hit to reconsider and look at the example of these young men that had everything going their way and now are in prison, Gunderson said.

I wish everyone could see the suffering of their family and friends and would lessen their desire to turn to a life of crime. It’s been a disastrous occurrence in regards to innocent victims such as friends, fiancés and wives, Gunderson said.

BYU‑I University Communications issued a response to the arrests, saying the university is deeply troubled by the arrests and that the crime is in direct conflict with the mission and standards of BYU‑Idaho.

BYU‑Idaho has cooperated fully with the University Division of the Rexburg Police Department in its investigation of this matter and will continue to do so, according to the release.

BYU‑Idaho also joins with law enforcement in urging students to be certain they are dealing with reputable sources when they purchase items on the Internet.