A collaboration between a CSUF student — whose purse and credit cards were stolen — and University Police has resulted in the arrest of an individual suspected in a number of campus crimes.
Joint efforts by the student, Sgt. Nigel Williams, and detectives Paul McClain and Autumn Hollyfield led to last week’s arrest of Minh Van Nguyen, 50, announced University Police Capt. John Brockie.
Initial detective work by McClain produced a photo of the suspect that matched the description provided by the victim and an information bulletin about similar crimes, said Brockie. “Last week, the victim saw a male that looked like the suspect in the photo. She called University Police, and our officers responded, locating Nguyen, confirming his identity and placing him under arrest.”
Further investigation revealed that the suspect had driven a vehicle stolen from Cal Poly Pomona to the Fullerton campus, and was a suspect in cases at UC Riverside and Chapman University. Nguyen had been arrested in 2003 for eight similar thefts on campus.
“This is a good example of how teamwork, from the victim actively participating in the investigation, to the work of our officers, was able to lead to an arrest and the solving of three outstanding CSUF cases,” said Brockie.