Catching some Z’s

A University of Arizona Police Department officer went to the Manuel T. Pacheco Integrated Learning Center at about 4:36 a.m. on Oct. 1 in response to a report of a suspicious person. A library employee reported that a non-UA student was sleeping on the benches near the vending machines in the ILC courtyard, even after he had been asked to leave.

When the officer arrived, he saw the man sleeping on the benches. The man said he didn’t have any identification, but then told the officer his name and claimed he was from Florida. The officer did a records check and found that that name didn’t exist in the Florida motor vehicle database. The dispatcher then told the officer she had information on a man with a matching date of birth from Arizona. When the officer asked the man if that was him, he said it might be.

He said that he was a student but his classes didn’t start until Oct. 18. The man told the officer that he didn’t know where he lived, but he was staying with someone because he had just moved here from Florida.

A second officer then arrived at the scene with an email from the library employee about the man. The email said that after the man was asked to leave, he tried to re-enter the ILC by following a group of students in at about 3:10 a.m. The library staff caught him and asked him to leave once again.

The officer then attempted to read the man his Miranda Rights, but as soon as he began, the man jumped over an adjacent bench and started running toward the south stairwell of the ILC. Both officers chased him up the stairwell while telling him to stop. The man stopped about halfway up the stairs and turned around. He was ordered to get down on his stomach and was handcuffed. The man was arrested on charges of second degree criminal trespassing.

While conducting their search, the officers found a Washington driver’s license with a picture of the man. The officer asked him why he lied about his identity and he said, “I thought I had a warrant.” He had no outstanding warrants at that time.

The officer later learned that the man had been in the Student Recreation Center for a few hours and then went to the UA Main Library at midnight. The man must have entered the ILC behind a group of students, as he wouldn’t have been able to get in without a CatCard.

Music building mischief

A UAPD officer went to the Music building 3:39 p.m. on Oct. 1 in response to a report of theft. At the scene, the officer spoke with the woman who called in the report. She said that two burgundy, leather benches about 6 feet long were stolen from the lobby the night before. The woman said that they were seven to eight years old and that each bench would cost about $200 to replace.

She told the officer that she first heard one of the benches was gone when she noticed music students posting about the incident on Facebook. They said that the first bench was stolen at 9:48 p.m. and the second was stolen at 11:59 p.m. The woman sent out emails to the music department asking if any student knew the whereabouts of the two benches.

There are no suspects at this time.

Speed demon

A UAPD officer was in the area of Speedway Boulevard and Olsen Avenue at 8:45 a.m. on Oct. 1 when he noticed a BMW in the middle lane traveling at 64 mph, well above the speed limit. Once the officer caught up to the vehicle it switched from the middle lane to the first lane and then attempted to get into the southbound turn lane.

The officer activated his emergency lights and conducted a traffic stop just west of the intersection of Speedway Boulevard and Campbell Avenue.

The officer told the driver that he was being arrested fon charges of criminal speeding. The driver said that he was sick and late for class, and tried to talk his way out of getting arrested, but the officer told him that driving 29 mph over the speed limit is unacceptable.

The man refused to sign his citation so the officer asked him to step out of the vehicle so he could take him to jail. The officer informed the driver that if he didn’t show up for his assigned court date, a warrant would be issued for his arrest. The man then cooperated with the officer and was then cited and released at the scene.

Un-appeeling situation

A UAPD officer near Sixth Street and Highland Avenue observed a UA student speeding at about 1:34 a.m. on Oct. 1. The student was driving a black Chevrolet sedan. The officer watched the driver peel out of the area of Seventh Street and Highland Avenue at about 1:28 a.m.

When the driver stopped at a red light at the intersection of Sixth Street and Highland Avenue, the officer initiated a traffic stop.

The driver identified himself with a California driver’s license and said the vehicle he was driving was not his. He also said that the vehicle was having a problem shifting and he had been trying to fix it. He was cited and released for exhibition of speed.