Fraudulent identity on campus, library theft continues

The amount of fraudulent identification presented by individuals attempting to take the entrance exam at Santa Monica College for prospective students has increased over the past three years, according to Esau Tovar, faculty leader of the assessment center.

“It used to happen sporadically,” says Tovar. “In the last year, we have probably had about ten cases, and we’ve reported about three recently.”

Tovar estimates about 70 percent of cases are international students hiring people who happen to be friends or acquaintances.

This week, two incidents of impersonation have occurred at the assessment center.

At 9:45 a.m. last Monday, a student was apprehended when attempting to use fraudulent identification to take an assessment test for another student. He and the student in question were referred to the judicial affairs office. No criminal charges have yet been filed.

Only an hour later, yet another individual attempting to take the assessment test presented a forged California identification card to staff in the center. The staff called campus police, and the individual’s identity was discovered after questioning. A citation was issued, and the report was forwarded to the city attorney’s office for prosecution.

Tuesday, Nov. 5

A black iPad mini tablet was stolen around 1:20 p.m. after a student fell asleep in the library on top of her iPad, and, upon waking up, found it missing. No suspects were reported seen, and no witnesses have come forward with further information.

Just before 7:20 p.m., a nonstudent, known by police to be mentally ill, refused to leave campus after being asked by campus police to do so when he made disruptive statements in the library. The man complied without incident.

Wednesday, Nov. 6

A male student was cited for actively drinking whiskey on campus just before 3:30 p.m. and disposing of the bottle in a nearby trash can as observed by police officers. Both the citation and report were forwarded to the city attorney’s office for prosecution.

Thursday, Nov. 7

At noon, an Access transportation card was stolen in the library’s basement level after being left unattended for about 15 minutes. No suspects were reported seen, and no one has come forward with further information.