Caller crosses wires with police

A man was arrested on April 7 at 11:45 p.m. for interfering with an educational institution and criminal trespassing after violating an exclusionary order.

At 10:23 a.m., a woman called police and said that she had received a suspicious phone call on her university phone from a man. The man left a message saying that another man was being held against his will and being tortured by remote MRI equipment. The man who left the message did not seem to be the one doing the torturing, but instead just someone who wanted to report it. The woman did not think the man sounded threatening or angry.

Shortly after, police learned that another woman had received a phone call to her university phone from the same man. He said the same thing about another man being held against his will, but also added that he had shut off the power to the Communication Health Sciences building at 1522 E. Drachman St. He said that other people were being tortured at the location the other man was at and that he felt something should be done about it.

Police asked the woman if the power in the building was off. She referred police to another employee who said that on April 6 at 5 p.m. he checked the building and the power had been turned off. The employee told officers that a circuit box located on the outside of the building on the southeast corner had all of the breakers in the off position.

The employee told officers that the building is not in use, but there are items there such as refrigerators and microwaves so the power is always left on. There were no signs of forced entry and the employee said he believed the power had been turned off between April 3 and April 6.

Police attempted to make contact with the man who turned off the power. When they went to his place of residence, his roommate said that he was in Benson, Ariz. with his mom and he would be back sometime later in the day.

At 10:15 p.m. on April 7, an anonymous person called the police and said that he had received a call from a suspicious man on his home phone. The man was the same one who had called the two women earlier in the day.

The caller said that at 10:00 p.m. the man called him and said he was going to burn down a building. Police responded to the building, but did not locate the man. There were no signs of an attempt to burn down the building or any other type of criminal activity.

The officer continued to speak to the man who had been called, who said that the man had called him three other times during the day, at 6 a.m., 7:15 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. When the man received the last call at 10 p.m., he asked the man not to call him anymore. He told the officer he did not feel harassed, but he did not want any more phone calls.

With information from the caller about the name that showed up on his caller ID, police were able to determine that the man had called him from the Terrace Motel, 631 W. Miracle Mile.

The police got a team together because they had probable cause to arrest the man for trespassing and interfering with an educational institution because of the phone calls he made.

Police arrived at the motel at 11:55 p.m. They spoke to the night manager who confirmed that the man was staying in one of the rooms. She said the man’s mother had paid for the room with her credit card over the phone.

At 12:04 a.m., police made contact with the man in his hotel room. He was arrested and taken to the University of Arizona Police Department station for questioning.

After he was read his Miranda rights, the man said he would answer questions. When asked, the man said that he understood that he had an exclusionary order and that he was not allowed to return to campus. Police then asked him about coming to campus and cutting the power to a building. The man said that he knew nothing about it and he did not want to talk anymore.

The man was taken to the Pima County Jail where he was booked on charges of second degree criminal trespassing and interfering with an educational institution.

Man claims bookstore theft was accidental

A man was cited and released for shoplifting on April 9 at 3:59 p.m.

Police responded to the UofA Bookstore in reference to a possible shoplifter in custody. When they arrived, police met with an employee who showed them a tape of a man walking out of the store after picking a notebook up off a shelf and putting it in his backpack.

Police then made contact with the man. The man admitted to putting the notebook in his backpack and leaving the store. He said that he went to the store with the intention of buying the notebook. When he saw one he liked he picked it up and started walking around the store.

He then went to Starbucks and sat down at a table, where he put the notebook in his backpack. When he did this, he noticed a bill that was overdue on the bottom of his backpack and he realized that he needed to go pay it, so he got up, forgetting that the notebook was in his backpack. He said he was stopped by an employee on his way to the Science and Engineering Library.

The man was cited and released on scene and referred to the Dean of Student’s Office. The total price of the notebook was $17.71.