An estimated $5,600 of property was stolen from Cornell Law School student Jensyn Yuan’s apartment in the Cayuga Lofts on Sept. 15, Yuan wrote in a statement to The Sun. The Ithaca Police Department is actively investigating the incident, according to Police Chief Thomas Kelly.
The stolen items included Yuan’s laptop, credit cards, electric bike, AirPods, backpack and more, according to Yuan.
Yuan was in his apartment, which is located directly across from the IPD office, when an intruder broke in early in the morning on Sept. 15, he wrote to The Sun. When he woke up, he noticed multiple items of his personal property were missing.
“[That night,] I worked until very late and left my Surface on my desk running Codex,” Yuan wrote to The Sun. “I woke up at around 7 a.m. on Sept. 15 and found that my computer, e-bike, backpack, and other belongings were all gone.”
Yuan estimated the burglary occurred at approximately 3 a.m. when the remote-control log of the Codex program he left running overnight logged off. He suspects that someone entered through the garden, pried his apartment’s patio door open and carried his items out through the garden, though IPD did not confirm these details, he wrote.
In a statement to The Sun, Kelly advised the community to call the police if they witness suspicious activity. He declined to comment on the details of the alleged burglary, as to not compromise the investigation.
The stolen credit cards were used to attempt small purchases at restaurants in the Commons — including a $7 purchase at Paris Baguette at around 9 a.m. while Yuan gave a statement to the police and another attempted purchase at Shortstop Deli at approximately 10 a.m., Yuan wrote.
After the first fraudulent purchase at Paris Baguette, Yuan wrote that he felt IPD could quickly apprehend the suspect.
“I honestly thought the case might be resolved very quickly, because the person had just used my card at a known location and I thought the police might be able to go there and find him,” Yuan wrote. “I got to the store about 10 minutes later, but the person had already left. I contacted IPD again[, and]… I was told that no officer was available and that I would need to wait.”
After police did not locate the suspect following the fraudulent credit card use, Yuan wrote that his hopes of recovering his valuables diminished.
“I stopped expecting that my property would necessarily be recovered,” Yuan wrote. “By now, I assume the electronics may have been sold, moved elsewhere, or broken down for parts. That has been the most frustrating part of the experience.”
Without any major updates from police, Yuan wrote that he reached out to other students to help locate his stolen property. He added that he posted photos of his missing items on RedNote to spread the word.
The incident has been difficult for Yuan’s sense of safety and his academics, he wrote.
“I keep thinking that if he had decided to enter the bedroom instead … I would have had very little ability to protect myself,” Yuan wrote. “Instead of focusing on Contracts and my other coursework, I have spent much of the week communicating with the police, my apartment management, my insurance company, banks, and people who have sent me leads.”
Yuan previously spent a semester in Oakland, California, where he wrote that crime was a major concern. He wrote that he assumed Ithaca would be much safer due to its smaller size.
“I never expected my first month in Ithaca to begin like this,” Yuan wrote. “Safety was one of the reasons we chose an apartment directly across from the police station. We never imagined that someone could enter it this easily and apparently this confidently.”
Dalton Mullins is a member of the Class of 2027 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He is a senior writer for the news department and can be reached at dmullins@cornellsun.com.
