A group of students living near the University of Oklahoma bought a Ring doorbell after an intruder entered another resident’s apartment and escaped.
Less than a week later, their new camera recorded a naked man moving through their hallway, trying apartment doors and eventually disappearing through one that opened.
Norman Police later arrested 19-year-old Gavin Vanderven, a resident of the same apartment complex, after officers responding to another reported burglary found him inside the building. He was booked on two counts of burglary.
The camera created another problem for residents of Callaway House: KFOR obtained lease language stating that surveillance cameras such as Ring and Blink devices cannot be installed inside or outside an apartment without prior written permission from the landlord.
Trying The Doors
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The latest incident unfolded early Sept. 27 at Callaway House, an off-campus student apartment complex at 333 E. Brooks Street in Norman.
Norman Police said a resident woke to find an unknown person inside their room. The resident called 911 after the person left.
By the time officers arrived, they learned the person had entered a second apartment. Officers cleared that unit and then learned he had gone into a third.
That apartment turned out to be Vanderven’s residence, according to police. Officers contacted him there and arrested him.
The department said Vanderven was booked into the Cleveland County Detention Center on two burglary counts. The charges are accusations, and his case had not been resolved as of publication.
KFOR’s footage added another piece of the sequence. Ring video shown by the station depicts a naked man walking through a hallway and approaching several apartment doors.
Resident Jillian Munger told the station that her camera alerted her when the man came near her apartment.
“So I look at my camera, and I see a completely naked man walking from the door adjacent to us, walking to our door,” Munger said.
She said he tried one door, approached hers, noticed the camera and then moved to the next apartment, where he was able to get inside.
Six Days Earlier
The Ring camera had gone up because something disturbing had already happened inside Callaway House.
Norman Police received a similar report at the complex on Sept. 21. In that case, a resident reported waking to find an unknown person going through drawers inside the apartment.
The person fled and could not be located.
Police have not said Vanderven was responsible for that earlier intrusion. The department’s Criminal Investigations Section is investigating both incidents to determine whether they are connected and said additional charges could be requested.
But the first incident changed how some residents approached their own security.
Munger told KFOR that she and her roommates bought the Ring camera after learning about the earlier break-in.
“We didn’t feel safe knowing that there aren’t cameras anywhere in our building except for in the elevators,” she said.
An employee at the Callaway House front desk told KFOR that the property did not have cameras in its hallways and that cameras were primarily positioned near exits and stairwells.
A Lease Problem
Then residents learned their own cameras could conflict with their leases.
A Callaway House lease shared with KFOR states that surveillance equipment, specifically including Ring and Blink cameras, cannot be installed inside or outside an apartment without prior written permission from the landlord.
Munger said residents were told they technically were not supposed to have the device.
“But then again, that’s the only reason that the suspect was apprehended because we had that camera,” she told the station.
The footage did not itself make the arrest. Norman Police located Vanderven while responding to the burglary call. But it gave residents and police a recording of the man moving through the hallway and approaching doors.
Kristina Kole, whose daughter lives at Callaway House, questioned the property’s response.
“Walking around naked is not a problem, but having a Ring camera is?” Kole told KFOR.
She said parents would continue installing cameras regardless of what the apartment complex said about them.
Inside The Room
Kole also described what her daughter experienced while an intruder was inside her apartment.
She told KFOR her daughter remained beneath her covers, frightened, while the man went through her closet, underwear drawer and dirty clothes.
According to Kole, he eventually walked to the nightstand and stood near her daughter’s head.
Kole said she believed the earlier incident should have resulted in additional security measures at the complex.
Callaway House is an off-campus property marketed to University of Oklahoma students. American Campus Communities, which operates the property, lists the complex at the same Brooks Street address identified by Norman Police.
In a statement provided to KFOR, the company said it was aware of the Sunday incident and was working with Norman Police during the investigation.
“We recognize the concern this incident raises and are actively reviewing additional measures to strengthen safety and security across the community,” the company said.
The company said it could not provide additional information while the investigation remained active.
The University of Oklahoma separately told KFOR that it was aware of the off-campus incidents and follows established procedures for assessing safety concerns. The university referred questions about the criminal investigation to Norman Police.
Norman Police said its investigation into both Callaway House incidents remains active.