At least four students living at Bear Village Apartments had their cars broken into early April 6, and the UCA Police Department is urging students to not leave valuables in their cars.

“It is very important for people to remove valuables from vehicles when parked or at least cover them up and double check to make sure the vehicle is locked. Most of our vehicle break-ins happen via an unlocked door,” Sergeant Michael Hopper said.

Student Brandon Donahue reported his driver’s license, two debit cards, a Social Security card and his wallet stolen.

In his report, Sergeant Zack Hill said, “I was able to observe camera footage from the area during the time the theft was to have taken place. I was unable to determine if anyone entered Brandon’s vehicle as the area his vehicle was parked in was too oversaturated for the camera to show anything other than a blinding light.”

Hill also dusted for fingerprints and was able to pull one, but it wasn’t good enough to analyze, the report said.

The car-hoppers stole a purse with $10-$15 from senior journalism student Hannah Rohrer, as well as a green Lululemon purse, her driver’s license and her debit card.

She didn’t notice the theft occurred until April 8, thinking she left her purse in a friend’s car. Then, she realized the digital camera she checked out from UCA’s film equipment was missing as well.

Rohrer said police didn’t end up dusting her glove compartment or console, despite her reporting a change purse stolen.

“I told them, but they didn’t ask to dust my car or anything again,” she said.

Rohrer found out in an April 10 email she’d likely get X grades until she could pay for the camera’s replacement.

“I feel very bad about it,” Rohrer said.

Student Madison Freeman reported someone had stolen $38 in cash, her green Bike backpack, insurance and debit cards, a necklace, JBL headphones, a Steve Madden handbag and a Michael Kors wallet from her car.

Freeman told police she believed she locked it, but officers didn’t find damage on the outside.

Hopper said, “We have officers through that area frequently. It is hard for me to give you an exact number, but Bear Village is regularly patrolled.”

Rohrer lives at Bear Village and said she hasn’t even noticed there being security cameras.

She said, “I see cop cars occasionally, but I don’t think they patrol Bear Village very well. I know one or two other people who have mentioned their cars being broken into.”

One student, junior psychology major Abigale Houchins, had her car rifled through but said nothing was stolen.

Houchins said she hasn’t heard of theft happening at Bear Village before, so it surprised her when she realized someone broke in.

“Since Bear Village is not technically on campus, I do feel as though it is not patrolled as well as the main parts of campus are,” Houchins said.

Houchins said her car wasn’t dusted for prints, either. She found both her glove box and her center console open.

“I have not heard anything back regarding gathering evidence or dusting my car for prints,” Houchins said.

Because she didn’t see any damage on the outside of her car, Houchins said, “I can only assume that I accidentally left my driver’s side door unlocked overnight. Mistakes happen, but this has definitely been a wake-up call for me to be extra vigilant in locking my doors.”

Hopper said there are two cameras at Bear Village.

Rohrer said, “Clearly two cameras isn’t enough because they have no leads on who did it, as far as I know. … I can’t find any [cameras] near my apartment.”

According to each report, the investigations are inactive: “There are no leads at this time.”

Car-hopping is breaking or entering, which is a Class D felony in Arkansas.

Another breaking or entering incident happened in the Farris Hall parking lot early April 11, when freshman Lucas Langster had his driver’s side window busted. Sergeant Tim Ryals heard the car alarm and saw two males fleeing the area.

Ryals said in the affidavits that he noticed in a nearby lot a Chevrolet Tahoe with black aftermarket wheels, which he said he saw frequenting the area in the week leading up to the arrests, “which is the time frame of numerous vehicle break-ins at the UCA campus.”

Two men, Alexander Bobo, 23, and Damichael Perry, 22, both non-Conway residents and nonstudents, were in the vehicle. They had a vehicle lockout kit and seven different key fobs with them.

They were originally charged with property theft over $1,000 but under $5,000, according to the incident report. The charges were bumped up to damages over $25,000, according to court documents, but both men were bonded out of jail before the charges were approved.

According to the Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office website, both have active warrants for their arrest.

Correction: In the print edition of this article, the headline was, “Four cars stolen from in Bear Village parking lot,” which is misleading, but also, only three car-owners reported items stolen. It has been corrected in this edition.