William Kennelly, freshman Business major and Benedict Hall Council President, was sleeping on the Staller steps on the beautiful afternoon of Wednesday, March 9 when he heard a woman yelling “thief!” from somewhere in the distance.

“I thought it was a dream, but it wasn’t,” Kennelly said.

Kennelly awoke to find a woman running after a man who was holding a wad of cash.  He immediately got up and started running after the man, leading to a chase that ended in the Music building.

“I didn’t actually feel scared until I was right behind him,” Kennelly said.

According to Kennelly, the burglar, Brian C. Kelly, ran into the Music building after stealing money from a woman employed by the Staller Center.  Kennelly then tackled him, and another student hit him to keep him from running away.  Two older men then came and grabbed Kelly and he gave up.  Stony Brook University Police then came to arrest him, Kennelly said.

According to Campus Safety, Kelly is a former Stony Brook University student whose last semester on campus was spring of 1997.  Kelly, whose last reported home address is in Port Jefferson, NY, was brought to University Police headquarters for questioning and then taken to the Suffolk County Criminal Court to be arraigned on a charge of burglary in the 2nd Degree.

Staller Center employees Patrick Kelly and Paul Newland, and resident student John Sanchez also contributed to the burglar’s arrest, helping to slow him down and constrain him.  According to police, the group wrestled Kelly to the ground, holding him down until police could arrest him.

“It is an unfortunate incident to have occurred,” Peter Baigent, vice president for Student Affairs, said in an email to the campus community.  “However, it is a testament to the character of Stony Brook University when students and other members of                           c