Riding Dirty

A University of Arizona Police Department officer conducted a routine stop for a broken license plate lamp on a Chrysler 300 leaving the Taco Bell parking lot May 15 at 4:17 a.m.

The officer noticed the driver, a UA student, had red, watery, bloodshot eyes, and could smell intoxicants coming from the vehicle.

He denied drinking but agreed to field sobriety tests.

After failing three tests, he was placed under arrest for minor in possession of liquor in the body and operating a motor vehicle under 21 years of age with liquor in the body.

A breathalyzer test administered at the UAPD Main Station revealed a blood-alcohol content of 0.032.

Meanwhile different UAPD officers conducted an inventory report before impounding the vehicle. The search uncovered two shotguns, a handgun, ammunition and a large amount of prescription medication.

The vehicle contained a fully loaded Ruger P95 handgun in the center middle console. Underneath the gun was a plastic bag with 98 Xanax pills and a medicine bottle with 59.5 more Xanax, totalling 157.5 pills without a legal prescription. The trunk contained two additional firearms, a Weatherby shotgun and a Sako bolt-action rifle.

The driver said, “I’m pretty sure it was a gift,” when asked how he obtained the pills.

He also received a felony charge for possession of a dangerous drug and was civilly charged for a non-working license plate lamp in addition to the drinking charges.

He was transported to the Pima County Jail and referred to the Dean of Students for violating the Student Code of Conduct.

Swingin’ for the fences

A University of Arizona Police Department officer arrived at the Main Gate Parking Garage on May 14 at 11:05 p.m. in response to reports of suspicious activity.

Upon arrival a group of young males were seen fleeing the garage via the stairs.

Two males stayed on top of the garage’s roof where the officer observed debris, which appeared to be broken glass, scattered across the ground.

The men admitted a group of five or six individuals were breaking Christmas ornaments with a baseball bat.

No bat was found at the scene but the officers observed a backpack on the ground.

When asked, none of the men claimed responsibility for it. A search of the abandoned property revealed a cold, half-empty bottle of Stella Artois beer and a cold Landshark beer bottle, which matched broken glass on the ground.

When the sluggers were asked if they had been drinking, the answers varied. One male denied drinking and later passed sobriety testing.

The other male initially denied drinking. He later changed his response and admitted to drinking prior to the incident. He was charged with minor in bodily possession of alcohol.

Both men were released after cleaning the debris off the ground. Before leaving, one individual went back for the backpack, but the officers explained that since it was not claimed, it would be destroyed. 

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