Vending machine vandals

University of Arizona Police Department officers responded to a call made by an Arizona-Sonora Residence Hall community director at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday after one of the custodians reported that a vending machine had been damaged. The glass panel was completely shattered and there were multiple food items taken. Officers investigated the area around the vending machines, and calculated that repairing the machine would cost more than $300. Officers also noticed there was a security camera above the vending machine. They viewed the camera’s tapes with the resident assistant so the RA could help identify the potential suspect.

The tape showed two male students standing in front of the vending machine. One of them was swiping his CatCard to get an item, but the vending machine did not process his request fast enough. The other student started slamming on the machine’s windows and shaking the machine until the glass had shattered into pieces. The two looked at each other with shock and left the scene.

Within hours, others were coming to purchase food from the machine and saw the glass shattered. Instead of reporting the broken vending machine, the students simply grabbed food and left the scene. The RA was able to identify the two students who initially broke the vending machine, and officers went to the students’ rooms. One of the students told the officers, “We did not want to break the glass or damage it, we were simply trying to buy some candy.” The two were cited for criminal damage of less than $1,000 and referred to the Dean of Students Office for Code of Conduct violations.

Seatbelt sorrows

UAPD officers stopped a male student at 5:35 p.m. on Wednesday along Park Avenue for displaying suspended plates. The officer asked the student for his driver’s license and registration. When the officer asked why the student was not wearing a seatbelt, he replied, “I don’t know, I was not wearing one prior to the stop.” The officer scanned his driver’s license and registration and it showed that the Tucson Police Department had a warrant out for his arrest for underage drinking. The officer confirmed it with TPD and placed the student under arrest. His car was impounded for 30 days and the student was cited for failure to show proof of insurance, failure to wear a seatbelt, possessing a suspended registration and having a warrant out for his arrest. He was transported to the Pima County Jail, and was also referred to the Dean of Students Office for Code of Conduct violations. His friend bailed him out of jail.

Harassment horrors

UAPD officers responded to a call from a frightened female who said that her former roommates were harassing her at 9:15 p.m. on Tuesday night. Police arrived at the scene and the girl explained that she used to live with two girls in the Arbol de La Vida Residence Hall. She moved out after she couldn’t handle the girls’ televisions being too loud and the lights and music always being on, so she requested a room transfer and moved up to the dorm’s fifth floor.

The student said she was on the fifth floor in a study room when her two former roommates walked into the room and asked her for money to help pay for their Sparkletts water service. The former roommate informed them that she canceled the water service when she moved out, and clearly remembered telling the two girls about the cancellation. The two students then changed the subject and began harassing their former roommate. The student ran out of the study room and into her personal room to call the police.

UAPD officers found the two students and informed them that their actions constituted harassment. Officers advised the two girls to stay clear of their former roommate and to not go on the fifth floor to harass her. The two students were also told that if they needed to contact the girl, they should go through the Dean of Students Office or through the local court system.