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Police Beat Stories

News from the Police desk.

Wasn’t me: Campus Police share favorite excuses

Photo illustration by David Scott. Challenging a police officer after throwing a paper plane can lead to arrest.

Last December, students were throwing paper on the court during a basketball game.

After a few warnings, a patrol officer went into the crowd to assess the situation. A student threw a paper airplane toward the court with the officer in plain sight.

“What are you going to do, arrest me for throwing a paper airplane?” the student said.

“That’s a novel idea,” said Lt. Arnold Lemmon, of University Police. “He suggested it, so we did it.”

The University Police help keep campus safe and controlled, but sometimes they enjoy spending time laughing at the comments students make. Several officers said the most common phrase used when trying to get out of trouble is, “I wasn’t the only one!”

While this may be true, it is not an excuse and officers don’t take it into consideration when issuing tickets.

Police Beat for August 4

POLICE CHASE

July 26: A 64-year-old officer on bike noticed another bicyclist riding aggressively and followed him to ask him to slow down. When the male on the bike noticed the officer following him, he began to flee and ran a stop sign. The officer followed him until the 20-year-old male on the bike was contained. He was arrested and given a citation.

 

BURGLARY

July 27: Someone thought there was possibly a burglary when they returned to their car and a window was broken out. Nothing appeared to be missing from the car, so officers think the window may have exploded because of the heat.

 

LEWD CONDUCT

July 27: There was a complaint in the HBLL of a male visitor looking at adult pornography on the computer.  This was not the first complaint against him for this type of conduct and he was banned from campus for 72 hours.

 

Police Beat for July 28

Missing Child
July 17: A 5-year-old child was missing in the Cannon Center. Her mother was found and the child was reunited with her.
Disorderly Conduct
July 18: There was a dispute over a call a referee made during a soccer game. The argument became heated and the police had to make peace and escort the arguers off the field.
Personal Injury
July 20: A bicyclist hit the fender of an SUV waiting to turn left off South Campus Drive. The bicyclist received minor injuries and refused paramedics. July 25: A female driving a Toyota Scion hit a motorcyclist while making a left-hand turn. The motorcyclist’s foot was hurt. The female was cited for failure to yield the right of way.

Police Beat for July 21

Theft

July 10: A professor reported that some library materials in his office were stolen.
July 10: A bicycle was stolen from the JKB.
July 13: A student reported a bike stolen from the racks north of the SFH.
July 14: A faculty member reported that her wallet and cosmetic bag were taken from her office in the ESC.
July 15: Money was reported stolen from a vendor working at the Stadium of Fire.
July 16: A backpack was reported stolen from a soccer camp participant. He left it at Helaman Fields and when he returned it was gone.
July 16: A bike was reportedly taken from North Wymount Terrace. It was parked near the tenant’s apartment and was last checked on in May. When the tenant recently checked on it the bike was missing.

Police Beat for July 14

Suspicious Activity

Police Beat for July 7

Domestic Violence

June 26: A domestic violence complaint was made at Wymount Terrace. Officers discovered the couple to be having a loud argument.

Suspicious Activity

June 27: Officers received a call of a suspicious person pushing a bike in the Wymount Terrace area. When an officer arrived he could not locate the person.

June 29: Four suspicious males were soliciting magazine sales at Wyview Park. The men were identified and asked to leave.

 

July 3: Officers responded to a suspicious person at the Bookstore upset about the deodorant selection. The person picked up a stick of deodorant, kicked it across the floor, then paid for the deodorant and left.

Theft

Police Beat for June 28

FIRE

June 25: A car caught on fire near the north entrance of the Tanner Building. Witnesses said the car started to smoke and then they heard the tire pop. The cause of the fire is unknown but the fire department said other Ford Explorers have caught fire in the past. The taillight of the car next to the Explorer was melted.

GRAFFITI

June 25: Graffiti was found at the bus stop next to the law library. The phrase “There are angels among us” was written in black permanent marker.

THEFT

Police Beat for June 16

Juvenile Problem

June 5: A group of rowdy juveniles was reported at the JSB. The juveniles had vacated the premises before police arrived.

Theft

June 5: Copper piping was stolen from BYU’s storage complex near the LDS Motion Picture Studio. The piping is valued at $1,000.

June 5: A bicycle was stolen from the JKB. The bike is valued at $600.

June 5: A purse was stolen from a vehicle at Aspen Grove. Orem Police later recovered the purse. Only cash was missing from the purse.

June 5: Bike parts were stolen off a bike at the Smith fieldhouse tennis court rack. The frame was still intact. The parts are valued at $250.

June 7: A locked bike was stolen from Wyview Park. The bike is valued at $400.

Police Beat for June 9

Property damage

May 29: A urinal in the men’s restroom in the TMCB was torn from the wall. There are no suspects.

June 4: A moose was loose on campus so police called the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Officials came and tranquilized the moose. However, before going down the moose damaged two vehicles in the parking lot across from the SAS Building.

Drug Arrest

June 3: An EFY counselor thought he could smell marijuana in Gates Hall around 11 p.m. He found three EFY participants smoking marijuana in the stairwell. Police said the juveniles will be charged.

Theft

Orem Police search for woman missing since May

Orem City Police are searching for a 31-year-old female, Sarah Jensen, who has been missing since May 25.

Sgt. Craig Gaines, of the Orem Police Department, said Jensen told her boyfriend she was going camping, and her boyfriend advised her to not go by herself.

“Since she has not been heard from for a week there is concern,” said Gaines.

Jensen left the Utah County area in her 2002 silver Toyota Corolla with Utah license plate Z72555DE, with two bumper stickers that said “Devotcha” and “Abide.”

Police said she spent the night at the Best Western — Zion on May 25, and purchased a Zion’s National Park pass the following day. She also bought camping equipment and withdrew cash from an ATM.

Jensen is 5-foot-10, 115 pounds with blue eyes and shoulder-length blonde hair. She was last seen wearing blue jeans and a white T-shirt, and she wears a necklace with the letter “S.”