Take the money and run
University of Arizona Police Department officers got a call from the surgery club’s administrative assistant at 11:41 a.m. on Wednesday about potentially stolen funds from the club’s bank account. The assistant told officers that a representative from JPMorgan Chase bank in Phoenix called the club, and said someone had taken $1,283.87 from the account over multiple charges on Tuesday. Charges to the card included $277.84 from the Home Depot in Phoenix, $675.84 from Kmart in Phoenix and $330.37 from the Home Depot in Tempe. The bank representative told the club’s assistant that they would not be reimbursed for these funds, since the card belonged to a club, not a single individual. The assistant canceled the card, but the card has yet to be returned or turned in. There are no suspects at this time.
Grab and go
A UofA Bookstore employee caught a student trying to steal textbooks at 3:24 p.m. on Tuesday. Bookstore employees watched the store’s surveillance camera and saw the man stuff two textbooks into his backpack and walk out the door. The undercover security officer followed the student until UAPD officers were able to arrive.
UAPD officers and the undercover security officer caught the student at Speedway Boulevard and Mountain Avenue, where they asked him to walk back to the bookstore and pay for the books. The student grabbed the books from his backpack and asked, “If I give you these books back, will you let me go?” He then threw the books on the ground and crossed the intersection illegally. Police chased him and were able to catch him.
The student was arrested and booked at the Pima County Jail for theft and failing to comply with an officer. The bookstore priced the two books to total $280. The student was on probation, and this was not the first time he had stolen from the bookstore. UAPD called the student’s probation officer and informed him of the incident.
A runaway
UAPD officers were on patrol on Feb. 25 at 12:05 a.m. on Saturday when they noticed a student inside the Park Avenue Parking Garage on the ground. Officers watched as he tried to pick himself up off the ground and attempt to walk again. Officers noticed that his jeans and white T-shirt were dirty. The man then saw the patrol car, instantly stood up and attempted to run away.
The man ran across Sixth Street to the 7-Eleven gas station. He walked inside as officers pulled into the store’s driveway, snuck past the store employee and continued to run. An unmarked patrol car was down the street when they saw the student run away and hide behind several bushes. The unmarked car then turned on its emergency lights and the student stopped.
When officers arrested him, they saw that his palms were bleeding and that his breath smelled strongly of alcohol. UAPD called the Tucson Fire Department to help bandage his hands. They cited the student for minor in possession of alcohol in body.