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UCLA library theft nets laptops worth $33K

WESTWOOD, Calif. - A brazen burglar managed to make off with $33,000 worth of laptops from the UCLA campus, reports CBS Los Angeles.

Authorities don't believe this is the first time the man has ransacked a building at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Campus police said surveillance video captured the man, sporting UCLA sweatpants, breaking into the Charles E. Young Research Library at 2:26 a.m. Saturday, according to the station.

The suspect smashed the window on the door to a storage room where 55 Apple MacBook Pro laptops were kept.

The footage also shows the suspect leaving the room with three roller suitcases and a shoulder bag at 2:41 a.m., police said.

The crime was reported by a library employee around 9:30 a.m.

Investigators said the culprit resembles a man caught on camera stealing two laptops from the Ackerman Student Union, also at UCLA, on September 28.

"I think it's really sad. I really depend, and other students really depend, on them," said UCLA senior Teresa Contreras, who had planned to check out a laptop Monday night to prepare for midterm exams.

"I actually rely a lot on it. I commute, so carrying a laptop that's 15 pounds is not an option," she added.

In the meantime, school officials are referring students to other computer labs.

Police said they're not sure if the male suspect, described as 5-feet-10 inches tall with a medium build, is a UCLA student.

Police ask that anybody with information about the suspect or the crime contact UCLA police at (310) 825-1491.

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