The Plymouth Police Department sent out a press release on February 1st, informing the community that someone was arrested by PPD to protect the students of Plymouth State University. They arrested Jarrod Ryan, aged 40, from Bethlehem, New Hampshire.

The press release came to us from Plymouth Police Chief Stephen Lefebvre’s o ce. It said, “While at the PD Mr. Ryan confessed to both today’s incident and the incidents that occurred on 01/29/2018. Mr. Ryan is being charged with 3 counts of Attempted Burglary, and 2 counts of Loitering and Prowling and Criminal Trespass. Mr. Ryan refused bail and was transported to the Grafton County Jail where he’ll wait to be arraigned on 02/01/2018 at the Grafton County Superior Court.” The press release revealed that Jarrod Ryan was cooperative, and went to the Police Department himself. Victims were relieved when they found out that he was found meaning they could once again feel safe on campus.

A student living on Russell Street helped track the suspicious man, “This victim was able to obtain the subject’s license plate number which lead to his identi cation. Police called the subject and he drove to the Police Department where he was taken into custody.”

Since this a serious and ongoing issue, the victims wish to remain anonymous. The events began on Monday, January 29th, when Jarrod Ryan walked up to a house on Russell street. When the victim opened the door, Ryan claimed that one of the residents of the house had called about a faulty re alarm. He mentioned one of their roommates name, and so the victim assumed he was a legitimate maintenance man.

The victim was alone in the house at the time. The third roommate was able to tell us their side of the story, “I was told he came in, walked around our house, peeked in our rooms then said “everything looks ne”, and just left. Roommate #2 con rmed that she did not call anyone. None of us did.” As alarming as that sounds, it unfortunately got worse, “So when I got home, my neighbor came over and said the same thing happened except this man walked into their apartment after knocking and no one answering because he was napping.”

Knowing the residents names gave Ryan the upper hand in terms of gaining access to their home. “He tricked my roommate pretty well”, the third roommate said, “We believe he saw our names on our mailbox. After that, our rst names have now been removed from the mailbox for obvious reasons.” This realization was just as scary to them as it is to those who hear about it. It’s the little things like names on mailboxes that we don’t realize are dangerous, and that can lead to situations like these. Privacy is crucial for safety.

Students must also remember fundamental steps to safety, including locking doors, and being cautious about answering door when home alone.

It was the third roommate who took this into their hands and alerted the proper authorities. “Once I realized this just did not add up, and that this man was not in any type of work truck with no tools, I called UPD because my roommate hates talking to authority gures on the phone”, the victim said, “UPD said this sounded very serious so they sent the case and call over to PPD. We had an o cer come to our house and take down statements and notes along with our information.” The immediate response from UPD really helped the victims feel heard, and that they made the right decision by reporting these occurrences.

The procedure for nding Ryan was handled diligently, and the victims were updated at all times. “Our building manager acquired the surveillance footage, and handed it over to the cops so they could identify this man and see if there were other answers to why he did this”, the third victim said.

Once word got out that there was a man attempting to enter student’s houses by lying about re alarms, the victims felt understandably anxious. “I did not feel safe at all until they caught the man”, the third victim said, “Even after I still felt a bit spooked and unsure of the whole situation.” This situation was obviously abnormal, and proved to be unsettling. “None of us slept well the rst two nights, in fear he would try to break in or come back”, they said.

After such a sketchy experience, all those a ected are grateful for how it was handled so expertly. UPD and PPD did a e ective job of keeping the students safe and secure. “I am so incredibly thankful for PPD”, the victim said, “They have went above and beyond to help us with this and make us feel a lot safer. They made it a point to keep us updated on the whole situation and every step they were taking.” Communicating with them really helped the victims feel better aware of their surroundings, and a stronger sense of security in their home.

The third victim said some lasting words of advice, “Stay safe. And always lock your doors.” As always, anyone who sees a suspicious person on campus should report them by calling UPD at 535-2330, using the Tips Line or Silent witness. UPD is always here to protect us, and they de nitely proved this week that we are in good hands.