Big money, big fraud

A University of Arizona Police Department officer went to the Arizona Respiratory Center at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday in response to a report of fraudulent charges made to an employee’s purchasing card. The officer spoke with the department accountant who said one of the employees’ cards had been used to make fraudulent purchases between Oct. 15 and Oct. 17. The charges were made online and totaled $3,636.79. The accountant was notified of the fraud when the bank sent her an email. Victim’s rights forms were forwarded to UA Risk Management Services.

Harsh theft at Harshbarger

A UAPD officer went to the John W. Harshbarger building at 10:50 a.m. on Thursday in response to stolen computer equipment. The officer met with the research assistant, the business manager and several graduate students. The research assistant reported that a Dell computer tower, a Samsung monitor, a wireless mouse, keyboard and several cables were stolen out of the lab’s basement. The business manager said the locks on the doors had not been changed for years and it was known by a fairly large number of people. There was no forced entry or viable fingerprints in the lab. The students told the officer that the door is occasionally propped open with a trash can when there is someone working in the area. The business manager said she has since reprogrammed the lock code. There are no suspects or witnesses.

Foiled by the phone

A UAPD officer was patrolling the football game against UCLA around 6:30 p.m. on Thursday when he noticed a man staggering above the ZonaZoo section. When he approached the man, the officer noticed the man had red, watery eyes and a strong smell of alcohol coming from his mouth. The student denied drinking alcohol, as he was 18 years old. The man later admitted he had been drinking alcohol, but he had less than his friends and he wasn’t drunk. The officer told him he was under arrest and the man began to cry. He tried to contact a friend but he couldn’t remember how to unlock his phone. The man was booked into Pima County Jail for minor in possession of alcohol in body.

Not my pot, not my problem

A UAPD officer went to Babcock Residence Hall at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday in response to an odor of marijuana coming from one of the rooms. The officer knocked on the door of the room and one of the residents answered. The man told the officer, “I know why you are here. I don’t want anything to do with it.” He explained that two hours earlier, two of his roommate’s friends showed up and smoked marijuana in the shower stall. The friends told the man that his roommate had granted them permission to use the stall for smoking. The man said this happens often and that he usually leaves the room when it does. He said he had not reported the criminal activity to avoid a confrontation with his roommate. The man consented to a search of his side of the room and no illegal items were found. The officer then contacted the man’s roommate, who denied knowing about the marijuana. He refused to allow a search of his side of the room. The incident will be investigated by UA Residence Life.