Police Beat 12/5/2018: Crimes, Signs and Bad Times

‘B’ Right Back

There was a clear sign crime had been committed at the Gamma Phi Beta sorority house when a large wooden sign depicting the letter “B” went missing Nov. 16.

A University of Arizona Police Department officer arrived at the scene of the crime at approximately 5:15 p.m. and spoke with the sorority member who reported the theft.

She told the officer that at about 5 p.m. she was in an Uber when she spotted a man walking down Speedway Boulevard carrying a large, pink, wooden “B.”

The sorority member lead the officer to the last place she saw the sign, a shed near the house’s parking lot, where a wooden sign of the Greek letter Gamma was still leaning against it. She said at 3:15 p.m. that same day she saw the “B” also leaning against the shed.

The officer also spoke with the Gamma Phi Beta house mother, who told him that the cameras that face the shed were not working. She said that she would want to prosecute on behalf of the sorority if a suspect was found.

While heading to the sorority, the officer reported they had received word another officer had detained a man matching the description, carrying a wooden “B” on the corner of Speedway Boulevard and Mountain Avenue.

The sorority member agreed to see if she could confirm his identity. The officer gave her a ride, and she positively identified both the man and the wooden “B.” He then drove her back to the sorority house.

According to the second officer, who detained the man, the man initially appeared “agitated” and said he would take care of his court dates.

While patting him down, the second officer discovered a thin, blue pipe. Upon further questioning, the man also admitted to having marijuana on him.

A records check also revealed the man had four outstanding warrants with the Tucson Police Department.

When asked why he took the sign, the man said he wanted it because his wife’s name began with a “B”. He said he did not intend to steal the sign and initially believed it to have been discarded.

The officer arrested the man on charges of burglary, possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia. He was booked in Pima County Jail.

The wooden “B” was returned to Gamma Phi Beta.

‘Gun’ in a Flash

A mysterious guest with a firearm was found sleeping in Colonia de la Paz Residence Hall on Nov. 18 but disappeared without a trace before anyone could learn his name.

A UAPD officer arrived at the residence hall at approximately 1:30 p.m. The officer met with both the student who made the report and the hall’s community director.

The reporting student told the officer that just before making the call to UAPD, he entered his dorm room to find an unknown male guest sleeping in his bed. His roommate was also asleep in the room on his own bed.

His entrance apparently woke the guest, who immediately ran out of the room after grabbing a black semi-automatic firearm from under the bedsheets. He ran past the reporting student, who did not see which direction the guest ran off in.

When the guest ran off, the reporting student told the community director about what had happened.

The reporting student clarified to the officer that he knew what BB guns looked like and that this one had lacked the orange markings.

He led the officer to his room, where his roommate was still asleep. The officer woke the roommate and asked about the guest.

The roommate said he had met the guest the night before through a friend. The guest asked if he could sleep in the room, and the roommate said yes. He claimed that he had no knowledge of the firearm’s presence.

Attempts to contact the friend who had introduced the guest over Snapchat failed. The officer contacted the friend, who lived in Posada San Pedro Residence Hall.

The friend stated that he hadn’t hung out with the roommate that night. He hadn’t even been in that hall. He also did not know anyone with the same name as the guest.

According to the friend, the roommate had posted a picture on Snapchat of him holding the firearm. The picture had since been deleted.

The officer spoke with the roommate again later that day and informed him of what the friend had said. The officer further explained the roommate had not yet committed any criminal acts, but that lying to a police officer could lead to possible charges.

The roommate said that he understood and he’d met the guest at the Hub the night before they came back to his room to play video games. The rest of his story was consistent with what he told the officer before.

He maintained that he did not know about the firearm and denied posting the picture on Snapchat.

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