Double trouble break ins
Break-ins occurred to two vehicles on Feb. 11 at 630 N. Main Ave. at 1:14 p.m.
The first victim, a UA student, told a University of Arizona Police Department officer that she parked her 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier near the south side of the lot at around 9:20 a.m. When she went back to her car, the driver’s side door lock was damaged. The woman also noticed paperwork from her glove compartment was scattered inside her car. According to the student, an iPod attachment and an emergency knife were also missing from the car.
A 2004 Ford Explorer parked two spaces away had a shattered passenger side front window. The owner of the Ford parked her car at approximately 7:30 a.m. Then, she came back to the vehicle and dropped off her pink backpack containing books. When she went to her car around 10 a.m., she noticed that her window was broken, and her backpack and gym bag were missing. The paperwork in her glove compartment was also scattered throughout the vehicle.
The officer did not locate any witnesses or suspects and neither did the two women. Both were provided with victims’ rights forms, and photos were taken of the damage.
Tools of the trade
A non-UA-affiliated shoplifter was caught at the UA Bookstore on Feb. 12 at 3:42 p.m.
The officer on the scene met with a loss prevention employee at the bookstore on arrival. The employee said the man was sitting in the conference room of the store with another employee. The Clinique makeup booth called him over to advise him about a man concealing a display makeup compact in his pocket. The employee saw the man take a pair of Dr. Dre headphones and leave the store as he approached him.
According to the bookstore employee, the man slurred his words and was hard to understand when he caught up to him outside, but he agreed to go to the conference room. As they were walking, the man pulled out a long gardening tool when asked if he had any weapons on him.
According to the officer, the suspect looked intoxicated and did not have any weapons on him except a large screwdriver. A wooden-handled weed removal tool with a 16-inch metal shaft and forked tongue was sitting on a table in the conference room when the officer arrived. The man was wearing a gray hoodie over a blue backpack, a black “Bazinga!” “Big Bang Theory” T-shirt, blue jeans and white tennis shoes with florescent green shoelaces.
He did not have an ID on him, and he said he was 21 years old but could not remember his birthdate. He said he lived “under the new bridge.” He claimed to understand English but preferred to speak Spanish. The man told the officer he did not take anything, and he couldn’t remember where he was. He also said he suffers from epilepsy and has a monitor on his neck.
The Tucson Fire Department was called due to the confusion and sluggishness in the man’s voice. The man’s mother was called, and she told the captain that it was normal for him to be sluggish, and he suffered epilepsy as a child.
A robbery was broadcasted nearby matching the man’s description, and he was placed under arrest for shoplifting. He was transported to the UAPD station.
— Compiled by Amber White