Vintage posters stolen from campus

By: Jilianne Scamperle

SAN MARCOS – A series of vintage music posters valued at $45,000 are reported stolen from
the Witliff exhibit in the Texas State University library after a student worker stepped away from
the information desk Sunday evening, and security alarms did not go off.

Meghan Werner, a student employee at the Witliff Collection in Alkek Library, left the
information desk of the exhibit to take a phone call and returned to find some posters missing.
The 10 stolen posters are part of the “Homegrown: Austin Music Posters 1967-1982” collection
which features 140 music posters of artists including, The Beatles, Jimmy Hendrix, The
Ramones and more.

“We’ve never had something like this happen before,” Werner said. “But honestly, there’s no
glass casing to prevent someone from stealing a couple of posters if they really wanted to.”

While security is normally set in place to prevent robberies, the system was going through a
weekly test and was temporarily turned off. Police said the suspect is facing serious charges, and
believe that he is a part of the Texas State campus.

“Given the execution of the robbery, we suspect that this individual may be employed by the
university in some capacity, either as a student or staff worker,” campus police officer Doug
Simpson said. “Whoever is responsible is looking at felony grand larceny charges.”

Tamika Williams, a witness who was studying nearby, said that she saw a suspicious man
carrying a large duffle bag around the same time the posters were stolen.

“His features were long, like his nose and beard looked real scraggily…His hair went down to
the middle of his back,” Williams said. “When he walked out, his bag was full, but I didn’t get a
sense something was up until I saw that girl come back from the bathroom five minutes later and
start freaking out”

The collection was particularly important for Bill Witliff, the founder of the Witliff Collections.

“The pieces were truly pieces of art, and some were autographed by legendary musicians,”
Witliff said. “I never thought in a million years someone would be bold enough to come into the
display room and steal something right off the wall.”

If you have any information, contact the University Police Department.

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