A 19-year-old man who police say stole books from other students and sold them back for profit was arrested at the UofA Bookstore Tuesday while attempting to resell several texts.

Police went to the bookstore around 3 p.m. after receiving phone calls from employees about a man acting suspicious. The officers questioned Todd Holes and determined he stole books left unattended by students and then tried to

resell them at the buyback window, reports stated.

“”He would watch students leave books unattended and then he’d walk up and grab them, or their book bag, and then head for the bookstore,”” said Sgt. Eugene Mejia, University of Arizona Police Department spokesman.

Though the case is still under investigation, police are questioning whether Holes is the same individual who stole and resold books at the store on numerous occasions earlier this semester, Mejia said.

“”We had become aware of sales like this occurring at the university and we were already looking for an individual prior to receiving this call,”” Mejia said.

Mejia said he couldn’t say how long police have been investigating this case or the number of books that Holes tried to resell.

Ann Wolnick, director of bookstore public relations, said this type of theft is not common at the bookstore.

“”It’s rather unusual,”” Wolnick said. “”We’ve experienced no more than a dozen of these cases in the last year.””

In previous instances, Wolnick said she heard that a man had stolen books from the library and then successfully sold them back at the bookstore, though she could not say if Holes was again the suspect.

Police booked Holes into the Pima County Jail on four felony charges, Mejia said.

Because Holes was pretending to be a student when he tried to resell the books, he was charged for taking the identity of another. He was also charged with theft, trafficking in stolen property in the second degree and for possession of drug paraphernalia for having syringes, Mejia said.

Holes remained in custody Wednesday night and was released sometime yesterday morning, according to the Pima County Jail inmate roster.

This incident should be a red flag for students to not leave their property unattended, Mejia said, because these crimes could have been prevented if the students kept a closer eye on their bags.

“”Take away the opportunity for a criminal to commit the theft,”” Mejia said.