First, the Defenestration of Prague. Now this.

Sophomore James Vaughan was the latest victim of crime through a window Tuesday night, when a thief cut a hole in his screen and swiped his laptop, which he called “an old, beat up Toshiba.”

“I looked at my desk, and my laptop was not there,” said Vaughan, who lives on the first floor of Enchanted Broccoli Forest (EBF). “I looked up and the cords were hanging out of the window. I know I didn’t lose it, since I wouldn’t have thrown my laptop out the window.”

But the night was still young for the EBF thief. Forty minutes later, another EBF resident, sophomore Danny Neumann, found his laptop missing. A purse and a wallet were also stolen from the house sometime Tuesday evening, Vaughan said.

Somebody, it seems, went four-for-four that night.

According to the public crime bulletin, the Stanford Police Department received notice of the laptop thefts the same evening, though the stolen purse and wallet were not recorded. Police officials said they are working on the case.

“It’s not unusual for two laptops to be stolen at once,” said Detective Mark Trueblood, the investigating officer on the case. “We have had windows cut before. We’ve had everything happen you could imagine.”

Trueblood said that the thefts were related, suggesting that the thieves were probably looking for a “quick grab.”

The police reported no suspects and no leads, but they do have an idea of where not to look — other EBF residents.

“It’s somebody from outside,” Trueblood said. “That’s what it looks like.”

Vaughan concurred, arguing that since his room faces the most social area around EBF, it was ideally located for someone to steal his laptop on their way into or out of the building. With his blinds open and his laptop in plain sight, it was a prime target.

The house itself, however, was quiet. According to Vaughan, there wasn’t anything going on that would attract people other than residents.

Trueblood said that he was following standard procedure for such situations, by sending an email to residents advising them to raise their levels of caution.

The officer who reported to the scene of the crimes also dusted for prints and looked for other forensic evidence, but the search didn’t turn up anything usable.

The next step is the “knock and talk.”

“In this week and early next week, I’ll be knocking around,” Trueblood said. “We’ll be looking for plate numbers and any descriptions.”

But the chances of finding Vaughn’s laptop are not much better than it jumping back through the window.

According to the Department of Public Safety, there were 75 laptop thefts and burglaries reported from September 2005 through June 2006. From September 1, 2006 through the beginning of October, they have been seven such thefts.

Meanwhile, Vaughan has purchased a new laptop, thanks to homeowner’s insurance and understanding parents. And this time, he has a lock.