Now that the weather is getting colder in our little slice of desert, two things are in ever-high demand: blankets and alcohol. You might be surprised by the lengths that people will go to in order to acquire both of those things. The next issue of Police Beat is here to tell you all about what is happening on campus with UAPD. As always, stay informed so you can stay prepared and stay safe.

Two incidents of grand theft auto on campus

In an unusual turn of events, there were more cars stolen than bikes on campus between Nov. 22 and Dec. 3.

On Nov. 22, the University of Arizona Police Department discovered that a University of Arizona student’s black GMC Sierra was stolen from the Park Avenue Parking Garage.

Camera footage shows a 2011 black GMC Yukon entering the garage and lingering in the area where the Sierra was parked around midnight that day. At 1:16 a.m., both vehicles could be seen jumping the curb on the north side of the garage to exit to the street. Additional footage showed both vehicles heading west from the intersection of Fremont Avenue and Mabel Street.

Officers did not find the Yukon at its listed local address.

On Dec. 1, a UA student parked his 2021 Toyota Corolla on the ramp between the second and third floor of the Sixth Street Parking Garage approximately 11:30 a.m. Parking and Transportation Services informed the driver that his vehicle was seen leaving the garage at 9:15 p.m. There is no footage of the driver.

The student reported the car stolen the next day. He told police that he made two pairs of keys — one to keep on hand and one to keep in the car. The car’s manufacturer also advised police that there is a tracker on the vehicle and provided an address three miles away where it indicated the car was located.

A UAPD detective visited the address that the tracker indicated and discovered it parked across the street. A nearby resident said that the car had been there since at least 7:30 a.m. that morning, but once again, no footage captured the driver. Officers collected potential DNA evidence and returned the car to its owner.

As the second pair of keys was never recovered, UAPD advised the car’s owner to have the car rekeyed to protect it from future theft. Not keeping an additional pair of keys in the car might also prove a fruitful suggestion.

With regards to bikes and scooters, there was only one incident on Nov. 25 when a pedestrian reported seeing someone in the process of cutting a bike lock. Police arrived at the scene to find that the bike lock was not yet fully cut and that the suspect fled the scene before finishing. There was also an individual who reported a scooter theft that occurred between Nov. 3 and Nov. 9.

Man breaks into football stadium in search of alcohol, starts spree of petty crimes

On Nov. 29, UAPD responded to the Casino Del Sol Stadium in response to a suspicious open gate. Officers found a man inside the stadium drinking a can of red wine he stole from a locked refrigerator.

After being searched and arrested for burglary, officers found two large cans of beer on the man, which he admitted to stealing from a nearby Circle K. This was corroborated by security footage from the store showing the man stealing the beer from their back fridge and hiding them in his backpack. Circle K did not want to partake in judicial proceedings.

On Nov. 30, the same man entered the study room of the Graham-Greenlee Residence Hall and began drinking. In addition to trespassing, this was a violation of his exclusionary order from UA property. A dorm resident assistant showed up and explained dorm policy to the male, who became enraged in response and yelled slurs at the RA. The man left before officers arrived.

UAPD noted that this man had been arrested several times in the last 2 weeks by this point.

On Dec. 2, the same man once again gained unauthorized access to the Graham-Greenlee Residence Hall. He discovered the door to a resident’s bedroom ajar and entered. He asked the resident if he could borrow his phone charger, which he granted. The man did not return the phone charger.

On Dec. 3, UAPD discovered the man at the Main Library and arrested him for charges related to his Nov. 30 altercation with the RA, as well as second degree trespassing and interfering with judicial proceedings.

UAPD also discovered that the man’s photo was being passed around a Graham-Greenlee group chat, where residents called him the man who had been “terrorizing the hallway.” UAPD added on an additional charge of burglary for the phone charger incident in response.

The man informed UAPD of his intention to return to the UA campus after his release.

Man breaks into fraternity in search of blanket

On Nov. 30, multiple members of the Kappa Alpha fraternity were gathered in a bedroom of their fraternity house when a man entered through the back door. He came into the bedroom and asked them for a blanket. Unhappy to see a stranger in their house, the members told the man to leave. He refused to leave unless given a blanket.

After the members finally got the man to leave the house — sans blanket — they called UAPD and the man was arrested for an outstanding warrant for an unrelated offense.

UA facility ransacked for copper

On Nov. 23 at 1:29 a.m., officers responded to an alarm at the Arizona Materials Laboratory — an off-campus UA facility. The officers discovered that the east wall was cut into and approximately 20 feet of copper piping leading to an AC unit were removed in addition to copper wiring from an electrical box.

The suspect likely entered the facility through a bar missing from the iron perimeter fence. There was also an attempted entry to one of the storage facility sheds, but it is unknown if anything else was stolen.

UA student left threatening note

On Nov. 25, a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity reported that he was left a note from another male saying that he would “kick his ass” the next time he saw the DKE member.

It is not known who left the note, but UAPD believes him to be unaffiliated with the UA and the current or former boyfriend of a girl the DKE member met at a party.

UA student turns herself in for stealing a brick

On Nov. 22, a UA student arrived at the UAPD station to turn herself in for theft of property she had committed at the Student Union Memorial Center. The property in question was a brick.

After being arrested, cited and released, the student later came back to the station to return the brick.