Liar, liar

A UA student was arrested on charges of theft, possession of marijuana and false reporting to law enforcement at Arizona-Sonora Residence Hall at 10:52 p.m. on Jan. 12, after allegedly stealing and selling an iPhone 5.

University of Arizona Police Department officers were dispatched to the hall in reference to a fight in progress. No punches were thrown and once the police separated the two students, they spoke with both.

One of the students, who was new to the UA, said he was walking around the fifth floor to try and meet people when he forgot his iPhone 5 in a room. Upon returning the next day to retrieve it, the resident of the room said he had sold the phone on Craigslist.

The new student thought he was lying and returned later in an attempt to catch the suspect using his phone. However, he was told once again that his iPhone had been sold. The student then threatened to fight the suspect.

UAPD spoke to the suspect outside his room. He told police he no longer had the phone. The suspect said he didn’t know the owner of the phone and that the owner was high on Xanax when in his room.
The suspect believed he’d done nothing wrong by selling the phone.

He added he’d deleted information about the buyer of the phone and wouldn’t be able to contact them. Additionally, he had already used the money he’d received for selling the iPhone 5 to buy one for himself.

UAPD told the man he was under arrest on charges of theft.
While waiting for one officer to retrieve a citation from the patrol vehicle, the suspect opened the door to his room, which is when an officer smelled the odor of marijuana coming from inside.
The student said his room always smelled like that and that there was no marijuana inside. He then gave UAPD permission to search his room.

During the search, UAPD found what looked to be marijuana residue inside of a Camel cigarette box. The student “expressed much surprise to the finding of the item” and accused UAPD of planting it in his room.

The officer was unable to definitively say the residue in the cigarette box was marijuana, but submitted the evidence to the UAPD station for further testing.

Police then completed the citation and told the suspect that they would need to take his new iPhone. It was currently at a friend’s, the suspect said, adding that he was unsure of the address. The officer said the two needed to go his friend’s house to retrieve the phone. The suspect then motioned the cop closer to whisper in his ear: “I lied. It’s not in my friend’s house. I don’t want to lead you on a wild goose chase. The phone is downstairs.”

The student then led UAPD outside the dorm and behind a patio area and lifted a rock. Under the rock was an iPhone, which he gave to UAPD.

Later, UAPD met with the student who’d had his phone taken. The student brought the original box of the item, and the serial number on the packaging matched that of the phone the suspect had handed to police.

UAPD then returned to the suspect’s room for a follow-up. After some knocking he answered, shirtless and in yellow shorts. He asked UAPD to wait, saying a woman was present who wasn’t decently dressed at the moment — but a moment later, the suspect told police that he had lied and there was no woman in the room.

An officer told the suspect that the substance UAPD had found at the bottom of the Camel cigarette box had tested positive for marijuana and that they’d matched the serial numbers of the phone.

The man was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana, theft
and false reporting to law enforcement. He was then transported and booked at the Pima County detention center.

A Wild Turkey chase

UAPD went to the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity house after a ground-floor window was unknowingly broken at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 11.

Upon arrival, police were met by a UA student who showed police a hole in his window that was about a foot in diameter. The opening was not large enough for someone to enter. A broken Wild Turkey alcohol bottle was also found in the room near the window. The man asked around and no one had seen or heard anything.

The man had already spoken with his roommate, who was unaware of the incident.

UAPD then gave the man victim’s rights forms. He said the fraternity would participate in future judicial proceedings if a suspect were found.