Three University students were arrested early Friday morning for theft of a means of conveyance near Robertson Hall, police said.
The students — juniors Kenneth Chu and Timothy Egan, and sophomore Charles Wiggins — were apprehended shortly after 6 a.m. for allegedly stealing a University employee's car, police said.
A 46-year-old male University employee noticed his car was missing from the front of Robertson Hall at about 4:30 Friday morning. He said he had left his keys on the front seat of the 1986 Chevrolet pickup truck, according to the police.
After about 20 minutes of searching, the employee notified University Public Safety about the missing car, and they then contacted Princeton Borough Police, Public Safety Capt. Don Reichling said.
Within two hours Borough Police stopped the three students in the pickup truck on Alexander Road.
Wiggins was driving, while Chu and Egan were passengers. All three were charged with motor vehicle theft. Wiggins, a Howell, N.J. native was also charged with driving while intoxicated and possession of a false Illinois driver's license.
"The students in the car didn't have any [alcohol or drugs] on them, otherwise they would have been charged additionally," said Princeton Borough Police Lt. John Reading.
According to the police report, Chu and Egan stole the car and picked up Wiggins, though all three students are charged with auto theft.
Most arrests of University students in the Borough involve underage drinking, drug use, shoplifting from the Wawa food market or disorderly conduct, Reading said.
"In my history here, I don't remember our students stealing cars," Reichling said. He said car theft does occur on campus, but students are usually not responsible.
Reading said that before Friday's incident, the most recent case of a student suspected of vehicle theft involved a car that had been stolen on Prospect Avenue and briefly moved to a different location on the same street.
"Student crime in the Borough is minimal. I think it's a tribute to the fact that it is Princeton University," Reading said.
Egan could not be reached for comment. Chu and Wiggins declined to comment.
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