Police Confirm Stuckey Is Prime Matthews Suspect

Police throughout Cambridge intensified a search for the alleged Yard Burglar after the issuing of a warrant for his arrest late Friday.

Along with officers from MIT and the city of Cambridge, a frustrated Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) stepped up efforts to apprehend Andre K. Stuckey Jr., who they believe was responsible for three robberies on Thursday, two of them at Harvard.

Stuckey was first arrested Oct. 22 for a series of robberies in Matthews Hall, Thayer Hall and Weld Hall.

Though initially reluctant to connect his release on probation Wednesday afternoon with the latest wave of robberies hours later, HUPD officials said yesterday that witness testimony and other evidence have convinced them that Stuckey is responsible.

"We want to scoop this guy," one HUPD officer said.

To catch Stuckey, police have increased patrols around the Yard and added extra officers to the shifts.

Since Stuckey hasn't been seen on campus since Thursday, police have begun to suspect that he may have gone into hiding, or that has left town altogether.

HUPD said a credit card stolen from Matthews on Thursday morning was used at South Station later that day.

In late November, Stuckey pled guilty to all nine charges lodged against him.

Middlesex County District Court Judge J. Curran sentenced him to two years in jail--but suspended his sentence based on the 38 days Stuckey had already served in jail. If arrested again, Stuckey will likely serve out his original two-year sentence.

According to the terms of his release, Stuckey was to have remained on probation until Nov. 30, 2001, and to have appeared in court in March.

The court has also ordered him to pay a $60 fine and $533.20 in restitution to his victims.

Court records obtained by The Crimson show that Stuckey has open cases in four states: Illinois, Washington, New York and California--where he is wanted on eight burglary warrants. He is suspected of jumping a bail warrant in New York.

Stuckey spent 54 days in jail for one of his two prior burglary convictions, prosecutors said.

At the time of his arrest in October, Stuckey gave his name as Kevin Carter, said he was 20 years old and said he lived in Long Beach, Calif.

Given Stuckey's lengthy previous record, HUPD officials said they were disappointed that he did not receive a tougher sentence.

"It's really a slap-in-the-face," one officer said.

University officials joined the police in questioning the light penalties. "We are of course always concerned by any incident in the Yard and are particularly distressed that the individual apparently responsible for break-ins earlier this year was released by the courts," said Dean of Freshmen Elizabeth Studley Nathans.

Toward students, Nathans stressed the advice that police and University officials have issued over the past three months.

"Every student has the opportunity to have two locked doors between himself or herself and any potential intruder," she wrote in an e-mail message.

"We hope that first-year students will seriously consider the potential consequences...of compromising security arrangements which work well when they are used," she wrote.

Stuckey's lawyer could not be reached for comment.