Police Beat

BY KATY BURNELL

Sept. 18- At 7:50 a.m., Student Activities Director Joe Mollo reported that a Toshiba laptop computer belonging to the University had been stolen from his office between Sept. 13 and Sept. 15.  Police entered the $800 computer’s serial number in a nation-wide crime database, but no information has been forthcoming.

Sept. 18- At 12:43 p.m. a 20-year-old male Jefferson Hall resident reported that his black and silver Schwinn bicycle with orange ribbon around the handlebars had been stolen during the past two days. The $200 bike had been locked on the rack in front of his residence hall. There are no suspects or witnesses in the case.

Sept. 18- At 6 p.m., a 24-year-old University employee summoned police to the parking lot behind Simpson Library when she discovered that someone had vandalized her vehicle while she was at work. Police learned on-scene that the silver Hyundai Elantraís right rear fender had been spray-painted black. The vehicle sustained $500  damage, and there are no suspects or witnesses in the case.

Sept. 19- At 10:15 a.m. a 19-year-old female Marshall Hall resident informed police that someone had stolen her $20 Vera Bradley wallet from the second-floor lounge of her residence hall, where she had left it on a couch overnight. The thief made away with $70, several credit cards that have since been cancelled and her room key. No suspects or witnesses in the case. The investigation is ongoing, but police say they are not optimistic about the wallet’s recovery.

Sept. 19- At 4 p.m., a 22-year-old Westmoreland Hall resident notified police that his TI-83 calculator was missing from his third-floor room. Police have reason to believe the $100 calculator was stolen. An active investigation is ongoing.

Sep. 19-  at 7 p.m., a male Marshall Hall resident alerted police when he received a threat from his former roommate. The 19-year-old victim was told ìyouíd better watch your step, after a conflict between the two arose in the wake of his departure from their first-floor room in Westmoreland Hall. Police could not contact the 22-year-old offender, who was referred to Residence Life for conflict intervention.

Sept. 21- At 12:46 a.m. an anonymous student ran to the police station after witnessing a man and his companion pull a knife on two students at the outdoor basketball court.  Police rushed to the courts where the victims, shaken but unharmed, provided descriptions of their assailants. The 23-year-old and 22-year-old commuter students had been playing a game of pick-up when two Marines, Brandon Smith and Cody Collins, approached them ìlooking to pick a fight. The soldiers accosted both students and then one pulled his knife and pressed it into the 23-year-oldís stomach, according to police reports. Campus police and Fredericksburg Police joined forces to track down the two marines after they split at the sight of a UMW squad car. The victims do not wish to press charges, but both Marines still face prosecution.  Military police took the men into custody, advised campus police that the marines would be prosecuted under military law and took them back to Base in Quantico,Va.