Kelsey McBean, the son of Tompkins County legislator Leslyn McBean-Clairborne (D-1st Ward), was arrested Wednesday for attempting to steal a laptop from Olin Library, according to the Cornell University Police crime log.
At 5:35 p.m. Tuesday, McBean sprinted from the library with the stolen laptop, entering McGraw clock tower. According to one witness, he was seen carrying a knife.
Police removed McBean from the tower approximately 20 minutes later and he was referred to Ithaca City Court, according to the crime log.
Legislator McBean-Clairborne is the director of the Greater Ithaca Activities Center. She is also the first woman of color to be elected to her executive level, according to the Tompkins County legislature website.
McBean’s father, J.R. Clairborne, was previously a member of the Ithaca Common Council and ran for mayor against Mayor Svante Myrick ’09 in 2011.
Police previously arrested McBean in 2013 after an altercation in which he threatened a man with a knife and stole his cell phone, according to an Ithaca Police Department press release.