Link to article:
http://www.dailybruin.com/news/2007/jan/30/man-36-allegedly-posed-as-stud/ (-ent)
Man, 36, allegedly posed as student
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
After allegedly posing as a UCLA student for at least two years, Sheldon Ross, 36, was arrested on Dec. 31, 2006 for burglary and illegally accessing university computers and will be tried on Thursday for identity fraud, university officials said.
Karen Gentilucci, a university police detective, said this is the third time UCPD officers have arrested Ross on these charges. The first was on July 29, 2006 and the second on Dec. 22 of the same year. She also noted that at the time of Ross’s first arrest, he had an outstanding felony warrant in Alameda County for grand-theft credit card fraud.
Ross could not be reached for comment Monday.
In the past years, Ross has infiltrated UCLA life: He wrote an article for the Bruin Standard and a submission to the Daily Bruin Viewpoint section, played rugby, and was elected editor of Nommo, an African American newsmagazine.
Mike O’Connor, operations manager for the UCLA Student Media Center, said Ross had been breaking into the Student Media offices for years and that Ross’ arrest over winter break is a continuation of what he described as long-term behavior.
“He comes in (to the Student Media Office) just before the doors lock, he hides, he waits for everyone to leave, and then roams around for the weekend. He’s been doing this for years,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor plans to testify at Ross’s trial on Thursday about what he has seen on the security cameras, which includes Ross “poking around” the Student Media Office, usually between midnight and 3 a.m., he said. O’Connor said he believes Ross stole a door from the office, along with a hard-drive and some money out of the desks. Though Ross is not visible on security tapes actually stealing the items, O’Connor said Ross is the only person visible on the tapes that evening.
He also said there were cups of urine all over the office the last time Ross was arrested and removed.
“When a person stays in the office all weekend and doesn’t leave ... it has to go somewhere,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor also said Ross had a “friendly” relationship with many people in the office several years ago.
“He sounds intelligent, he’s very polite ... just probably not altogether there,” he said.
Ross never received a paycheck as editor of Nommo, O’Connor said.
“He was never really considered an editor. It became apparent that he wasn’t really a student,” he said.
Chet Cohen, corporate loss prevention manager for Associated Students UCLA, said Ross was advised after his previous arrests not to come back to UCLA, and that he was taken back to jail after he was spotted again.
Ross also lived at the Alpha Gamma Omega fraternity house two years ago.
Eddie Looper, the fraternity’s president and a former Daily Bruin copy editor, said AGO does not require its residents to be enrolled at UCLA and would not know whether Ross was actually a student.
Brian Aspell, a fourth-year biochemistry student, roomed with Ross during the summer of 2005.
Ross would stay in his room all day, downloading podcasts and other Internet files, Aspell said.
O’Connor said prior to Ross’ most recent arrest, Student Media officials began noticing an unusually high traffic of movie- and file-downloading on the IP addresses of certain work stations where Ross liked to work.
“A week later, we realized – it’s obviously Sheldon again,” he said.
Aspell said the fraternity found items of Ross’ that he found unsettling, such as equipment to pick locks and a book about changing one’s name in California.
“It’s just pretty disturbing that I was his roommate,” he said.
