The UW-Madison Police Department took a 39-year-old man into custody Thursday for the Tuesday night Witte Residence Hall robbery.
Brian Buhler turned himself in to the Dane County Jail and is being held on outstanding warrants for violating parole, according to UWPD Sgt. Michael Newton.
UWPD received an anonymous tip from the Madison Area Crime Stoppers Thursday morning that encouraged detectives to put together a photo lineup, in which the UW-Madison student robbery victims correctly identified Buhler, Newton said.
""We were doing everything we could, we were checking former addresses of the suspect today, and we searched the area,"" Newton said. ""And it turned out that before we found him, he turned himself in.""
Buhler was convicted in 1992 of theft and burglary and in 1996 of theft, according to Wisconsin Circuit Court Access records. Both incidents occurred in Racine County.
The Wisconsin State Journal reported that surveillance tapes show Buhler entering the building after a student opened the door while exiting.
Regarding current security measures in the residence halls, Newton stressed a multi-faceted approach to safety in which University Housing, the police and students all use preventative measures.
""There are a lot of security measures already in place,"" Newton said. ""We're definitely going to do more education with students. We're going to remind people that it's very important that you don't let people follow you into the building.""
Newton said the UWPD will remind students to use their own keys to enter the building and key elevators, and not to allow people without keys in the building.
""We're going to remind students continuously—and so is Housing and the dean of students—that it's a community effort,"" Newton said. ""All of us need to be involved in safety—it's not just the police, it's not just Housing, it needs to be the students too.""
