With students gone for the summer, local law enforcement had a quiet May and June — mostly.
Activity decreased overall on the Ohio University Police Department’s public radio log, but police still dealt with a few noteworthy incidents of theft, drunkenness and mischief.
Furniture burglar
An unknown person attempted to steal a set of bar stools and a table from a residence on Franklin Street while one of the residents was outside, according to an Athens Police Department report.
At about 8 p.m. June 11, the man, described as a college-age white male with short brown hair wearing khaki shorts and sneakers, entered the residence through an open door or window and fled in a small white SUV when the resident came back inside.
“There are no suspects at this time,” the report states.
In addition to the June 11 burglary report, APD received three reports of theft between the end of Ohio University’s spring semester and July. The OU Police Department received 12 reports of theft and two reports of burglary during the months of May and June. Seven of those thefts were reports of stolen bikes.
Other reports described the thefts of a variety of items, including:
- The seat and wheels from a bike in a Court Street apartment building stairwell. The frame of the bike was left behind.
- An air conditioning unit stolen from Weld House.
- An XBox and a laptop charging cord reported stolen from a Mill Street Apartment. The corresponding laptop was not reported stolen.
Grand theft nada
In other incidents, it turned out the objects had never been stolen in the first place.
A man reported to OUPD that his car had been stolen from the garage under James Hall on May 19, according to an OUPD report.
Before an officer had time to complete the report, the man located his car. He had forgotten where he parked it.
In a similar incident on June 30, a manager of OU Moving Services reported a cargo trailer stolen, according to an OUPD report.
“After further investigation,” an officer learned that OU Transportation Services had moved the trailer to the OU Airport, and no crime had been committed.
The case is closed.
Wilson weed
Most students left for summer break at the end of April, but some of them might’ve left behind certain illicit substances.
A resident assistant called OUPD to report finding marijuana in a vacant room in Wilson Hall on May 1, according to a police report.
An officer entered the suspected marijuana into evidence, according to the report. The report lists the case as closed.
Paint bucket projectile
At about 3 a.m. on June 12, an OUPD officer arrived at Kantner Hall “in reference to hearing a loud bang in the area,” according to a police report.
The officer found that someone had thrown a large white bucket of paint from the roof of the city parking garage, splattering the Kantner patios, windows and patio furniture with gray paint.
After some investigation, OUPD closed the case due to lack of investigative leads, according to the report.
The Court Street stagger
OUPD reported seven alcohol-related incidents during the months of May and June.
On June 3 at about 3 a.m., an officer observed a student staggering down the sidewalk on Court Street. The officer approached the student after watching him walk into two parking meters, and the student presented the officer with a fake ID.
The officer arrested the student for underage consumption and possessing a fake ID. The student was transported to Southeast Ohio Regional Jail.
Multiple previous Post reports document similar incidents, including one where a student provided officers with three driver’s licenses, two of them fake.
Running away
Another student caught an OUPD officer’s attention not by staggering, but by running.
On June 19 at about 1 a.m., as officers responded to a well-being check at the intersection of Mill and Fern Street, a man began running from officers.
The man failed to respond to orders to stop running from two officers, according to the police report. Another officer arrested him after a short foot chase.
The officer found a fake ID on the man and observed that he smelled like alcohol and had bloodshot, watery eyes. The man was charged with obstructing official business, possessing a fake ID and underage drinking and was transported to Southeast Ohio Regional Jail.
@baileygallion
bg272614@ohio.edu
