Police Beat

By Katy Burnell

Dec. 4- At 5:30 p.m., a Randolph Hall R.A. reported finding the work-order sheet taped to her door smoldering in the middle of the hallway. A message scrawled with ashes on the student’s door convinced responding officers that the arson was a personal attack.  The Fredericksburg arson investigator and campus police are engaged in an ongoing investigation.

Dec. 6– At 9:20 a.m., a Grounds manager summoned campus police to the lawn behind Russell Hall, where he had accosted two men and one woman in the process of slicing off tree limbs.  The suspects fled on foot before campus police arrived on scene, but not before informing the University employee that former President William J. Anderson had given them permission to take the branches.

Dec. 8- At 7:10 p.m., campus police responded to an 18-year-old male Jefferson Hall resident who had dislocated his right shoulder during a pick-up game on the outdoor court.  The student received ambulance transport to Mary Washington Hospital.

Dec. 9- At 3:12 a.m., a concerned male student requested help from campus police when his dangerously-intoxicated girlfriend, a 20-year-old UMW apartments resident, could not stop vomiting. The female student was taken to Mary Washington Hospital, and police notified Residence Life staff.

Dec. 11- At 9:29 p.m., an unidentified person attempting to microwave popcorn in the first-floor kitchen of Arrington Hall unwittingly triggered the fire alarm. Fredericksburg fire fighters told campus police on scene that the alarm source’s smell was unmistakable, but they were forced to clear the kitchen with fans before they could locate the smoking gun in the microwave.

Dec. 12- At 12:07 a.m., a campus police officer on foot patrol in Woodard Campus Center discovered a 15-year-old male runaway reported missing three days beforehand to Fredericksburg police.  The officer found him working at a computer in the Multicultural Center with his flash drive inserted. The juvenile was turned over to Fredericksburg police.

Dec. 12-At 9:41 a.m., Facilities Service notified campus police that a former employee had been reported missing from his Louisa County home.  David Huddleston’s picture and description were issued in a campus-wide e-mail with the subject line “missing employee, may have handgun.” According to campus police Chief James Snipes, the University’s threat assessment team contacted Huddleston’s family members, who reported having no prior knowledge of Huddleston’s termination from his HVAC technician position in November. Huddleston’s wife and two sons told campus police that Huddleston was under significant personal stress but posed no threat to the UMW community. Police remained on alert until late in the afternoon on Dec. 13, when one of Huddleston’s sons called Chief Snipes at home to inform him that Huddleston had been located at a Sherando Lake campground site in Augusta County. Huddleston was treated for hypothermia and exposure at the Augusta County medical center, according to Snipes.

Dec. 18- At 5:15 p.m., campus police responded to a blue-light emergency activation in the Sunken Rd. parking lot. The dispatcher reported hearing someone scream rape into the phone, but responding officers could not find anyone in the vicinity.