On Jan. 31, at California State University, Bakersfield, a man suspected of attempted theft was taken into custody. 

Rory McCay, 30, was found near the Nursing building at CSU Bakersfield. McCoy was transported to the Kern County Jail and booked on a felony and several misdemeanor charges, according to an information bulletin from the University Police Department.  

UPD responded to a report of a theft from Facilities on the morning of Jan. 31.   

According to an email response from Chief of Police for UPD Marty Williamson, the suspect attempted to steal clothing from a building in Facilities and had also stolen items from the Rite Aid on Ming Avenue. 

“Once we got the call we were on scene. It started at Facilities, but then, within about a minute or two, we were trying to find a suspect on campus. That took probably another couple of minutes for the officer to locate him because he was moving,” said Williamson on a phone call with The Runner.  

Within a minute or so, McCay was detained, said Williamson. 

“Initially, the suspect failed to follow the commands of the officer and the officer did a foot sweep to take the suspect to the ground. Officers then used their hands to gain control and handcuff the suspect,” wrote Williamson in the email response. 

That morning, officers were seen driving onto the Red Brick Road of the CSUB campus with emergency lights and sirens to allow for safe passage in order to assist the officer.  

Melanie Madrigal, a Sophomore Business major who witnessed the incident, said that she was sitting near the Science I and Science III buildings around 11 a.m. when she noticed a man in a red shirt walking around with a shirt in his hand.  

According to Madrigal, the officer was trying to get the man’s attention when he started screaming. 

“He was trying to resist. Turning him back, that’s when I really got a good look at him and he was foaming at the mouth,” said Madrigal.

“There were two officers. They had gotten him down and kept trying to put his arms into the cuffs because he kept on full-on turning his body to try to break away,” said Madrigal. 

Madrigal also shared that the suspect proceeded to argue with the officer to let go. 

Madrigal said that the incident lasted about five to ten minutes.  

According to Williamson, McCay had no affiliation with the campus.