Police Call Slaying at UCLA an Isolated Act

Kevin Jeske was not even scheduled to work Sunday night, the night he died.

Jeske, a 37-year-old UCLA ticket office manager, was substituting for another colleague when he was shot about 8:30 p.m. by a gunman attempting to rob him of the cash he was depositing in the on-campus drop box.

The suspect, dressed in military fatigues, fled in a waiting car driven by a second man. Jeske, who was shot once in the upper torso, died an hour later at UCLA Medical Center. The cash receipts from the popular “Tap Dogs” show that Jeske had collected from the Wadsworth Theatre landed safely inside the ticket office.

Those who knew Jeske were not surprised that on his last night he was helping another colleague. An aspiring music teacher and longtime university employee, Jeske was generous with his time, said David Lowenstein, director of the central ticket office.

In the wake of the shooting, university police hurriedly revised their policies and announced that workers assigned to make cash deposits--particularly late at night--will be accompanied by police escorts. The university also will increase uniformed patrols on campus, said university Police Chief Clarence Chapman.

There is no indication that employees who make cash deposits--often accompanied by campus police--have been targeted by robbers, Chapman said.

“This situation is of the gravest concern,” Chapman said, “but we firmly believe this continues to be a very safe environment. We believe this is an isolated incident.”

UCLA Chancellor Charles E. Young authorized a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for Jeske’s death. The reward money will come from the chancellor’s discretionary funds.

Cash drop-offs are regularly made at the nondescript beige drop box prominently located outside the ticket office in the heart of the campus. On Monday, a small glass filled with delicate orange roses sat under the locked box.

Chapman said Sunday’s shooting constituted “a random act of violence,” the first death of its kind on the Westwood campus. The most recent campus murder was in 1990, when a hospital supervisor was killed by a disgruntled worker. As campus police and Los Angeles police conducted their investigation, Jeske’s colleagues closed the campus ticket office in his memory. Counselors were available to talk with the 12 staff members and 50 student employees about the ticket allocations manager, who had worked at the office since November 1984.

“He worked tirelessly and his dedication to the job was tremendous,” said Lowenstein, his eyes red-rimmed. “We’re broken up. Our [central ticket office] family is torn apart. Kevin cannot be replaced.”

Friends said Jeske’s work at the ticket office allowed him to be close to the performances he loved.

A tuba player who was fond of classical music, Jeske earned a bachelor’s degree in communications and the arts in 1981 from the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay. He attended the graduate music program at Cal State Northridge from 1987 to 1991.

Jerry Luedders, dean of the music school at Northridge, said Jeske was pursuing a dual master’s in tuba performance and conducting, and according to his application, hoped to teach at a university and conduct music ensembles. According to music department records, Jeske never completed his thesis or held his master’s recital as required to receive his degree.

“He was . . . very gentle, very studious, very serious about what he was doing,” said Luedders, Jeske’s academic advisor. “And he balanced his life very well.”

Professors in the close-knit music department at the University of Wisconsin were shocked to hear of Jeske’s murder, expressing surprise that armed guards were not used to make cash deposits. Jeske had just visited his parents in Green Bay this summer, and memory of him was fresh among the faculty.

“It’s unbelievable to all of us,” said Cheryl Grosso, chairwoman of the music program at the university’s Green Bay campus, who went to school with Jeske in the late 1970s. Grosso said Jeske continued to practice and play his tuba and dreamed of being a full-time musician. “I just feel terrible about this loss. When someone is filled with so much life, it’s always so much more difficult to imagine them gone.”

On Monday evening, the gunman and driver remained at large. The gunman is described as an African American between 20 and 25 years of age, between 5 feet 10 and 6 feet 1, weighing 200 to 250 pounds. He was wearing a black jacket and black military-style pants tucked into black boots. He fled in a red 1980s-model Nissan.

Any information about the suspects or incident should be reported to the university police Det. Mark Littlestone at (310) 825-9371 or the LAPD West Division at (310) 575-8441.