Woman charged in sorority food theft

By: Lindsay Lorenz

Posted: 3/25/08

03/25/08 - Police arrested a South Kingstown woman accused of taking food from a University of Rhode Island sorority house after responding to reports of a suspicious person.

Two Sigma Delta Tau sisters found Margo Caddick, 54, of 70 Cherry Road, Kingston, peering into the house refrigerator around 5 a.m. on March 12.

The housemother, a South Kingstown police officer, followed Caddick to her car and began to question her, during which the officer noticed gloves, burglary tools and a mask in the woman's car.

Caddick told police she had entered the house through an open door, and was using the bathroom.

However, when police searched her backpack, they found food that was missing from SDT's fridge.

Police obtained warrants and searched her Cherry Road residence, as well as another residence on Peninsula Road in Matunuck, where they recovered items believed to have been stolen.

"We found items in her vehicle that would lead us to believe she was stealing from other fraternities and sororities," Maj. Stephen Baker of the University Police said, citing an X-Box that was recovered.

URI police are taking into account other recent larcenies that might be related to Caddick's. However, police never considered Caddick a likely suspect.

"She was completely off the radar screen as far as we were concerned," Baker said of the middle-aged white woman.

He said Caddick has no previous criminal record. "We've checked with other departments and no one's had contact with her," he said, adding that she grew up around the South Kingstown area.

"She didn't work here herself, but it does appear she was very familiar with the campus," he added.

Baker said South Kingstown Police are working on the investigation and URI police are assisting when possible.

"We're still investigating," Baker said. "This investigation is going to take some time."

Caddick is scheduled to appear in District Court in Wakefield on April 2.

Police are urging students to report stolen items, especially those with serial numbers, as police are able to track them through databases.

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