Police arrested a Des Moines resident this morning for burglary after he was caught stealing a wallet from a Drake professor’s office in Aliber Hall.
Sources tell “The Times Delphic” that Professor Danette Kenne, assistant dean of the college of business and public administration, returned to her office at 8:15 a.m. and found the suspect, 53-year-old Benjamin Emmett Hale, reportedly walking out with her wallet.
According to the security report, Kenne ran after the man, chasing him out of Aliber where she called over nearby grounds workers and said that the man had stolen her wallet. Workers chased after the suspect as campus security and police were called.
The suspect continued southbound on Cottage Grove Avenue and threw the wallet on top of a garage, where it fell off and was picked up by the workers.
One of the workers continued to chase the suspect down the street and stopped him near 29th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue.
Campus security and police arrived and the suspect was advised on trespass by security officers and arrested for burglary. He is being held on $5,000 bond.
According to the security report, officers advised Hale on trespass in Carpenter Residence Hall in 2004 and he was also arrested for theft in the Harmon Fine Arts Center in 1981.
Since 1991, Hale has nearly 10 arrests for burglary-related crimes. According to the Iowa Courts Online database, there are nearly 40 citations attributed to his name ranging from misdemeanors to felonies.
Drake Security Operations Manager Les Wheeler said that there was theft out of Aliber a week ago, but no suspects have been arrested.
