Kick rocks, man

An unknown man reportedly shoplifted a book from the UofA Bookstore at 10:52 a.m. on April 23.

A loss prevention officer from the bookstore reported the incident and followed the man to the Education building. Several University of Arizona Police Department officers coordinated a perimeter around the building for when the man left, but the strategy didn’t result in any contact.

Police then reviewed surveillance footage of the incident. The student was seen sitting outside of the bookstore for 27 minutes, then walking in to the biography section, where he removed the
cover from a book titled “Ghandi,” before walking out.

The loss prevention officer then proceeded to follow the man and asked to speak with him.

“No, I’m late for class,” the man said, refusing to open his backpack.

The officer then called UAPD to report the crime and the man turned to him and said, “kick rocks.”

The officer asked him to repeat what he’d said, and the man “got in his face,” held his arms out to his side with open palms and said “kick rocks, man.”

The officer then stepped back, as to avoid a physical altercation. He then saw the man enter the Education building.

While the officer was unable to provide the man’s name, he said that the man had twice been asked to leave a different UA bookstore location and was seen “howling” outside of the store on one of
the occasions.

Bookstore employees said they’d be on the lookout for the man and video surveillance was submitted to property and evidence.

Hunchback of the UA

A non-UA affiliated man reported his iPhone stolen from the Student Recreation Center basketball courts at 8:45 p.m. on April 23.

Police spoke with the man who said he’d placed his iPhone, wallet and other items in a pair of shoes while playing. When the man returned to his property about 45 minutes later, he realized the phone was missing.

The man had tried to locate his phone with a GPS application, but lost signal of the device because the phone was turned off.

When he had entered the basketball courts, the man had heard someone else say their phone had been stolen. The man said he kept that information in his mind as he placed his items in his shoes.

He described a “college-aged Hispanic male,” whom he believed to be suspicious and who had a distinguishable “hunchback.” While he didn’t see the man take any items, the man was sitting next
to several unaccompanied backpacks.

The man valued the case around his stolen phone at $30 and said all of his other items were still present.