Man accused in string of Pitt, Duquesne thefts

Nearly a decade after being charged in a string of robberies across several Southern California universities, a man was charged on Sunday in thefts committed earlier this month at Duquesne University and the University of Pittsburgh.

Karim Patrece Davis, 37, of Long Beach, Calif., was arrested on Feb. 25 in connection to a Feb. 6 robbery at Pitt’s Benedum Hall, where he allegedly stole a wallet belonging to Nathaniel Buettner, a Pitt graduate student.

Twice over the next week, on Feb. 26, and on March 1, Mr. Davis was separately charged in the thefts of several more wallets, loose credit cards, cash and a laptop computer from Pitt and Duqesne’s campuses.

According to affidavits of probable cause, Mr. Davis likely committed the robberies on the same night.

The charges come almost nine years after Mr. Davis and three others were arrested in a similar series of thefts at universities across Los Angeles and Orange counties.

UC Irvine and Long Beach police say Mr. Davis stole wallets, money and laptops from UCLA; California State University, Long Beach; California State University, Fullerton; and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, in the summer of 2011.

Pittsburgh police were able to first identify Mr.

Davis from surveillance footage captured at a CVS and a Walgreen’s in East Liberty, where police say Mr. Davis is seen purchasing items worth over $600 with Mr. Buettner’s credit card.

Police say they later identified Mr. Davis as the same man who stole a Macbook Pro laptop and credit cards from Duquesne University.

Between Feb. 6 and Feb. 25, police say Mr. Davis is also seen in the surveillance footage of pharmacies and convenience stores in Western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, purchasing thousands of dollars’ worth of items with the stolen credit cards.

According to the affidavit, he traveled during this time with a female identified as Ebony Richardson and an unknown male.

The affidavit also alleges that Mr. Davis is a suspect in the thefts of credit cards at Penn State University’s campus on Dec. 3 and other thefts at West Virginia University.

Mr. Davis is facing four counts of theft by unlawful taking, two counts of burglary, three counts of access device fraud, two counts of receiving stolen property, two counts of criminal trespassing, one count of criminal conspiracy and one count of criminal mischief.

He is awaiting a preliminary hearing on all charges.