A woman accused of burglarizing a house in Central Austin is now in Austin Police Department’s custody, according to online APD records.
The suspect, identified as 24-year-old Kaylee Morgan Gustin, has been charged with burglary of a habitation, which is a living residence.
According to APD, Gustin entered a West Campus residence through an unlocked door around 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
Gustin, who has not been identified as affiliated with UT, has also been linked to three similar burglaries in West Campus, each involving her taking electronics and entering through unlocked doors, according to APD.
Finance sophomore Jaladhi Shukla said with these burglaries and the stabbing that took place on Monday night, safety on campus needs to
improve quickly.
“I see police officers driving around all the time, but clearly this isn’t enough,” Shukla said. “If someone can easily break into several houses without being caught then our police departments need to work on security.”
According to the APD reports filed by the burglary victims, the suspect took a Samsung 40-inch television, a Sony soundbar and RCA antenna.
Austin police tracked the television’s serial number and found it at a pawn shop in North East Austin on Wednesday afternoon.
Gustin is currently being held in Travis County jail, and her bail is set at $30,000. The cases are still under open investigation, said Tara Long, APD public information specialist.
“There’s a lot connecting the four cases and officers are hoping that through the investigation we can link the suspect to all of it,” Long said.
Radio-television-film freshman Julia Bencomo said although she usually feels safe on campus, she always locks her doors out of fear of
being robbed.
“I’ve never really been afraid for my safety when I’m outside my apartment, but I definitely like to be precautious about getting robbed in my home,” Bencomo said. “If I can make myself feel safe without the help of the police then I will.”
Correction: An earlier version of this article used the word robbery to describe the incident. Gustin is only charged with burglary of a habitation. The Texan regrets this error.
