Man starts small fire on “”Secret Government Orders””

A University of Arizona Police Department officer arrested a man for reckless burning in the alley north of Jett’s Wildcat on Sunday, at 9:55 a.m. The man was cited and released.

At 9:33 a.m., the officer responded to 501 N. Park Ave. in reference of a man who had started a fire in the alley. On arrival, the officer made contact with the man, who was sitting on top of a picnic bench facing the building talking to himself.

The man had no identification and verbally provided his name, date of birth, social security number and states in which he previously held driver’s licenses. The officer checked the alley for signs of a fire and observed the ashes of a newspaper. He also saw a burned palm tree stump. The fire had extinguished itself before the officer arrived.

The officer tried contacting the owner of the property and left a voicemail for him at the phone number provided by the employee at the register inside of Jett’s Wildcat.

The man admitted to starting a fire with a Tucson daily newspaper in the alley to the north, using it to burn the stump of a palm tree.

When the officer asked the man why he would do that, he replied that he was on secret orders of the government and was attempting to send a message.

The officer then called the community director of the Arizona-Sonora Residence Hall and asked her to meet with him in the alley. She arrived shortly afterward and stated that she had been looking out of her apartment and had seen flames in the alley. She called 911 and observed a man putting his feet into the fire.

The community director pointed to where the officer had found the newspaper ashes and the burned stump and said that that was where the fire had been. The officer observed no other burn damage to any building, wall or UA property. He asked the community director if she would be able to identify the man she had seen and she replied that she would. The officer then asked her to walk to the front of the store to see if the man the police were speaking to was the same person she had observed. She did so, and pointed to the man saying that it definitely had been the man she had seen.

UAPD  took photos of the newspaper ashes, the burned stump and the surrounding area. The man was arrested for criminal burning, issued a citation with a court date and was released.

At approximately noon on Sunday, the owner of the property contacted the officer via phone and stated he would be willing to prosecute for reckless burning. The officer prepared a Victim’s Rights Form for him.

Beer pong and paraphernalia: one student takes one for the team

Four students were arrested on Sunday, at 1:55 a.m. for minors in possession. One of the students was additionally cited for possession of drug paraphernalia.

At 1 a.m., a UAPD officer responded to a reference of a large group of people in a dorm room after a resident assistant suspected possible use of marijuana. On arrival, the officer met with the resident assistant who had reported the incident to UAPD, and detected a strong odor of burning marijuana upon walking in the residence hall.

After investigating the area, the officer came to the conclusion that the odor was strongest near one specific room. When he smelled at the door cracks it was even stronger. The officer could also hear voices in the room, but could only make out three or four different voices.

The officer knocked on the door of the room, and a man answered. The smell of marijuana became even stronger once the door was opened. He could see another individual behind the man, who quickly moved out of his field of view.

A rectangular table with dozens of plastic red cups and beer cans on it were seen in the room. An officer who was also assisting with the incident asked the man who opened the door to step outside. He then ordered the other man who had been seen in the room to come out too. The officer noticed that this individual was carrying what looked like a bong before he had disappeared around the corner. The second officer ordered him to retrieve the bong and put it back where he had grabbed it, the man complied.

One of the individuals finally gave the officers permission, reluctantly, to enter his room. An officer entered with the student following behind them. As one of them turned into the living room, he could see a man sitting in the kitchen, half-hidden by the island counter. The officer told the man to exit the apartment, which he did. Another man stood up from underneath the counter, who was also ordered to exit the apartment.

The officer and the student who let him into the apartment went through the remainder of the rooms and did not find anyone else hiding. Miranda Rights were read to all four individuals separately and they were interviewed.

The first man told the officer that he does not smoke marijuana; he was only in the room hanging out with the three others, who were his friends. He admitted to having a bit of alcohol to drink. He did not know if there were any illegal drugs or paraphernalia in the room. He had watery, bloodshot eyes and smelled of intoxicants.

The second man told the officer that he smoked marijuana a few hours ago in the room where they found him. He was unsure if he used the bong that was seen in the room in order to smoke it. An unknown person that had previously been in the room had provided the marijuana. He stated that there were about 15 people there before the officers arrived. The student also admitted to drinking.

The third man told the officer he hadn’t smoked marijuana in a couple of weeks. He also stated that he had not been drinking, but the officer noticed watery red eyes. This man was a resident of the dorm room, and said that the bong was brought over to his place by one of the people that had left before the officer arrived. He also stated that one of the girls who had come to his room had brought the beer in a backpack.

The fourth man told the officer that he could not remember if he smoked marijuana. He could not remember when the last time he smoked marijuana was. He did not know where the bong came from or who bought the alcohol, but stated he believed it was someone from the large group of girls that had arrived earlier.

Several dozen cans of beer, some empty and some still filled with varying amounts of beer left in them were found in plain view of the apartment — all cold to the touch. A few dozen red cups were arranged in a “”beer pong”” style formation on the table and contained different kinds of liquid. Some had the odor of liquor, while others had no odor at all.

A “”handle”” sized bottle of Smirnoff vodka was found in the kitchen. The resident of the apartment opened his fridge for the officers and retrieved a 750 mL bottle of Skyy Vodka. A glass pipe with marijuana residue was found on the kitchen counter next to the Smirnoff bottle.

The officer asked each of the four individuals if the bong or pipe belonged to either of them. They all denied it was theirs. After the officer advised them they would all be charged with paraphernalia if no one claimed the responsibility, one of the students then stated that both the bong and pipe were his.

All students were arrested for MIP. The man who claimed the bong and pipe was additionally charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. All were cited and released at the scene. The alcohol was thrown away and the officer told the men that the Dean of Students would be notified of what had happened.