On the weekend of February 25th, the freshman dormitory on the southeast side of campus, Daugherty Hall, was broken into by a former student.
At around 7 p.m., as the door was left open by a student chatting with a delivery man. The assailant, Robert Fox Jr., was able to pass for a student and slip through the door without arousing suspicion.
Fox then proceeded to check door handles of random rooms, jiggling the handles to see who kept their doors unlocked. Upon entering, it is reported by students that he would rifle through their things, walk through their dorm rooms, and leave once he found something of value. He was later caught in the act and tackled in one of the rooms occupied by some football players who promptly took matters into their own hands. Police were called and Fox was arrested.
Lauryn Pettyjohn, who lives in the dorms with her two roommates, Megan Aamodt and resident assistant Addsion Bonzani, remembers being in her bedroom around 7 p.m. with both of her roommates in their respective rooms. Prettyjohn heard their front door open and footsteps trudging through the hallway. At first she dismissed it as being one of her roommates coming or going, but the footsteps were very heavy, and she was a little uneasy once she saw a man in a black hoodie and green cargo pants walk past her door and towards the back closet.
Pettyjohn recalls that she stayed in her room until Fox eventually went back out the door and into the hallway after stealing Bonzani’s keys. Coming out into the living room, she saw her roommate, Bonzani, also standing in shock as to what just happened. They locked the front door and waited together to see if anything else would happen.
Fox came back and jiggled the handle again to see if it was open. Once he discovered that it was now locked, he proceeded to head downstairs into the football players’ hallway.
Fox made the mistake of entering the room of some boys and stealing their things, gathering his findings in a duffle bag. One of the boys came out of his room to find Fox, realized what he was doin, and immediately wrestled him to the ground. They struggled for a bit, while Pettyjohn and Bonzani contacted authorities about the series of events.
Upon losing the struggle, Fox was held there by the football players until the police arrived. After emptying the contents of the bag, a variety of students’ items were found, including the keys belonging to Bonzani.
Fox was led away from the scene and placed into custody. Fox left everyone unharmed but shaken up.
Campus security and the La Grande Police Department continue to urge students to lock the doors of their dorm and car, be aware of their surroundings, and call at any sign of danger; whether large or small. The campus has taken some extra measures to restrict access to Hoke to only students and staff, making EOU a safer place to live and learn.
Stay safe! If you see a crime in progress, or any other emergency, call 911 to report it, and also contact EOU security.
For more information on campus safety and security:
Campus security phone number: 541-962-3911
Campus security email: security@eou.edu
