Grand Junction police made an arrest in connection with a timely warning issued to CMU students via email on Feb. 27.

Garrett Austin, 22, was arrested and charged with felony first degree trespass of autos, misdemeanor theft and possession of a dangerous or illegal weapon, according to a GJPD release.

“We believe he went on a spree where he was breaking into multiple cars,” Grand Junction Police Department spokesperson Kate Porras said.

Austin is suspected of 16 possibly related incidents, and according to Porras, investigators believe they have linked him to seven other incidents. Six of these break-ins, Porras said, were perpetrated on unlocked vehicles, while another vehicle appeared to have been tampered with.

Porras said that over 80 percent of vehicle break-ins involve unlocked vehicles.

Vice President of Student Services John Marshall said that administration does not believe there is an elevated risk of burglary or theft on campus, but nonetheless urged students to be cautious.

“We don’t believe that to be the case, but we don’t know,” Marshall said. “For the time being, we want students to be prudent and be aware that these things happen. Don’t leave your doors unlocked, and don’t leave your keys around.”

The GJPD release states that officers were dispatched around 5:30 a.m. to the 900 block of Glenwood Avenue, where a man was reported attempting to open parked cars’ doors and ducking down when cars passed by.

Officers found Austin sitting in the driver’s seat of a car. Austin had a backpack containing a drill and tool box. He told officers that he owned the car, but then said that he did not know who the car belonged to and that he did not have permission to enter it.

The timely warning issued to students also mentioned a reported vehicle theft that is being investigated. GJPD investigators have not linked the two incidents, Porras said.

crclark2@mavs.coloradomesa.edu