Students Mugged on Campus

Harvard students were attacked on University property in two separate incidents last weekend, and a potpourri of other crimes--including a jewel heist and a man stealing $50 from a dorm room while two students were home--have been reported to Harvard Police since last Friday, November 1.

On Saturday, Harvard Police arrested John J. Farrel, 20, of 153 Allston St. in Cambridge, for attacking a male Greenough resident with a three-foot stick in front of the entrance to Canaday C. After being arrested on Garden St., Farrel was turned over to the Cambridge Police Department.

Earlier, at 2:15 a.m. Friday, three men wearing leather jackets attempted to rob a male Dunster House resident at knifepoint in front of Adams House. The victim escaped unharmed, and Harvard Police are "checking around with nearby police departments to see if they have had any similar crimes," said Deputy Police Chief Jack W. Morse.

Sneaky Visitor

On Tuesday, a man walked into a Weld North suite while two of the suite's six freshman occupants were in their bedrooms--and walked out $50 richer.

According to the students, the 6-ft. tall Black man, wearing blue jeans and a brown jacket. entered the unlocked suite at about 1:30 p.m., and took $20 from the wallet of Elizabeth M. Lacovara and $30 from the wallet of Lisa A. Estreich. Police have no suspects.

Neither Lacovara nor Estreich was home at the time. But another roommate, Audris S. Wong, was resting in her room with the door closed. She said she heard someone knock softly at the suite's door and ask, "Is anybody here?" She said she did not respond because she thought her roommate would, and then went back to sleep.

A fourth roommate, Ellen L. Cox, then came out of her bedroom and saw a stranger standing in the common room. She said he asked for John Stubbs, a Weld proctor, and then left.

"I wasn't expecting to see a burglar in our suite and I was too surprised to think to question him," Cox said.

No one in the room realized anything had been taken until Lacovara and Estreich returned home and found that their money was missing.

"It seemed like he was a pro," Cox said. "He went right after the cash and was in and out in just a few minutes."

Wong and Cox said they are now keeping their room locked at all times.

Weld Proctors John and Caroline Stubbs said the entry door to Weld North was not closing properly on the day of the incident and this may have facilitated the man's entrance. The door has since been fixed.

Jewel Heist

The week's biggest theft happened this past Monday, when a burglar stole over $1000 worth of jewelry from 53 Dunster St., the home of Henry C. Moses, dean of freshmen. The loot included a Seiko watch, several strands of pearls and a ruby ring.

Thieves also stole over $1100 worth of audio-visual equipment from two Harvard buildings: on Sunday, two $300 VCRs were taken from the Boylston Language Lab, and on Tuesday two microphones worth $500 were stolen from the Science Center. All of the stolen equipment had been previously engraved with Harvard identification numbers, so police may be able to trace the merchadise.

Other thefts in the past week included four stolen bikes worth between $150 and $250 each a batch of stolen wallets and purses, including one that contained $850, and $450 worth of clothing stolen from a Holworthy Hall clothes dryer.

A defective ether bottle exploded on the third floor of Mallinckrodt Laboratory at 10:17 p.m. on Monday and started a small fire. One lab technician was taken to Cambridge Hospital, and officials there said that he was seen in the emergency room for smoke inhalation and sent home. According to the Chemistry Department, the labs were not badly damaged.

Cabot Library Window

Cabot Library was vandalized Wednesday night when a rock was thrown through a six-by-10-foot second-floor window during peak study hours. Noone was hurt in the incident.

"We have no knowledge of why it was done," said Cabot Librarian Alan E. Erickson. Police say no warnings were given and no notes were left, but are looking for leads.

Erickson said he thinks the incident could have been just an innocent mistake by someone trying to get the attention of a friend inside the library.

"They could have picked up a big stone instead of a little pebble," Erickson said. He said the last time a window was broken in the library was 1973, when a lawnmower shot a stone at a window.

Crime in Cambridge

This week in Cambridge: a shoe store proprietor was held up, a mental patient escaped, and a meter maid was beaten up.

An unidentified man walked into David's Shoes at 75 First St. in East Cambridge late Tuesday afternoon, approached owner David Sobel, and asked for all his money. "I said, 'You're kidding!' Then he showed me half the gun," Sobel said yesterday.

Not until seeing the other half of the gun did Sobel tell his manager to give the man the $700 in the cash register. Sobel said he considered overpowering the robber, but that he could not get in the right position.

This was the first robbery in his 25 years of business, Sobel said, and he had decided, "The hell with it. Play it safe."

John Brien, a 46-year-old Metropolitan State Hospital patient, reportedly escaped from the premises Wednesday evening. Although he had voluntarily admitted himself, he still was required to give officials three days notice before leaving, said hospital chief operating officer Dr. Phyllis G. Oram.

On Monday evening, Cambridge meter maid Elizabeth A. Gallinaro had just finished writing a parking ticket for a Chevrolet parked at the cornner of Trowbridge St. and Broadway when 30-year-old Cantabrigian Debbie Sharpe allegedly grabbed her and punched her in the face. Three witnesses at the scene of the crime confirmed the incident.

On Tuesday morning, Susan Thompson of Cambridge reported 96 Celtics tickets missing from her mailbox. The Boston Garden has been notified of the hot tickets.

Julie L. Belcove, Brooke A. Masters, Anne E. Messitte, and Allison L. Jernow contributed to this article.