Hit and… keep moving in

On Aug. 21, a UA student was arrested on charges of property damage and hit-and-run, and was released on the scene.

A University of Arizona Police Department officer responded to a call regarding a hit-and-run on Tyndall Avenue around 7:45 a.m.

A witness to the accident directed the officer to parking lot 5072 on Tyndall Avenue where they had seen a white Land Rover struck by another vehicle. The witness stated that a maroon suburban had struck the vehicle while assisting with the move-in process for new residents early Sunday morning.

According to the witness, they saw that the driver of the suburban did not leave enough room when pulling into the parking spot next to the Land Rover and struck the vehicle upon entering the parking spot. The witness also recognized the person driving the suburban, because she had previously attended high school with them. She saw the student realize he struck the vehicle, look at the damage and proceed to unload his belongings to the Árbol de la Vida Residence Hall. After he finished moving his belongings, he got back in his vehicle and drove off.

While the officer observed the damage to the vehicle, he spotted the maroon suburban on Tyndall Avenue and Sixth Street and proceeded to pull the vehicle over. The officer asked the student if he had hit a car earlier that morning. The student replied that he did, but said he only believed he scraped the car. After the officer observed the area on his car under the passenger headlight that was sunken in from damage, the officer asked him if he really believed that could’ve happened from a simple scrape; he replied probably not.

After the officer advised him on what to do after an accident like that happened, the student apologized and said he freaked out and left.

The student was arrested on charges of failing to remain on the scene and provide information, was cited and was released on the scene.

Missing laptop

On Aug. 21, a UAPD officer responded to a theft incident at the Pueblo de la Cienega Residence Hall.

While a new resident was moving in to the residence hall, he said he believed that his new MacBook Pro had been stolen. The student said that a man and woman were helping him move in when his laptop disappeared en route from his car to his room. He added that the girl helping him move in was unaware of the laptop missing, but the guy helping him seemed “evasive.”

The student’s father began to speak with the guy who was helping the student move in and said that the backpack he was wearing seemed square in shape. He also asked the guy if he could take a look into his backpack for the laptop, but it was not found.

The officer asked the student and his father to point out the man for questioning, and they were able to do so immediately. When the UAPD officer interviewed the man, he verbally consented to a search of his backpack, vehicle and an on-campus office at Bear Down Gymnasium, but the laptop was not in those locations.

The officer told the student that from his findings, the laptop was not in the helper’s possession. The student and his father thanked the officer for his help.