Police Blotter - 16 September 2010

Compiled by Jonathan McFadden and Claire Byun

PUBLIC DISORDERLY INTOXICATION (9/11/10)

At 2:12 a.m., a reporting officer observed a male staggering while walking down the sidewalk in front of the Telephone Services building.

The male ran around the corner of the building when he saw the officer.

The reporting officer made contact with the male and found him squatting down in an attempt to hide.

The officer smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from the male.

The male said he consumed half of a very large bottle of wine and was trying to carry a large mattress home. The reporting officer did not see any mattress in the area.

The male became belligerent, demanding to know why he was stopped. The male slurred his words while talking.

The officer placed the male under arrest and transported him to Rock Hill City Jail.

THEFT OF PROPERTY (PETTY LARCENY); RECOVERY OF STOLEN PROPERTY (9/3/10)

At 3:25 p.m., an officer received information from Crime Stoppers of York County that two male students, brothers, had been bragging about stealing items from Winthrop University and the DiGiorgio Campus Center.

The information further stated that the stolen items were supposedly at the males’ residence on Camden Avenue.

Two officers went to the residence to interview the males and search for any stolen items that may have been on the property.

Upon arriving, the officers knocked on the door, but no one seemed to be home. One of the officers reportedly made a mental note that, at the time, he did not see any property belonging to Winthrop around the house.

The officers returned to the Winthrop University Police Department.

A few hours later, one of the male students arrived at the police department and questioned dispatch as to why the police were at his house earlier that day.

One of the reporting officers met with the student and told him they received information that he may possibly have stolen Winthrop property and that it was at his residence.

After the male called his brother, both students voluntarily agreed to let the officers search their residence.

The officers made their way back to the brothers’ house, at which time they were greeted by the other male.

The officer noticed him coming from behind the house breathing heavily as if he had been rushing to complete a task.

The other male returned to his residence from the police department.

The officers and students entered into the house and, while one officer began searching the house, the two students and the other officer remained in the den area.

During the search, the officer noticed the back door of the house was ajar.

The officer looked outside the door and saw two multicolored chairs, both of the same type being used at the community concourse area of the DiGiorgio Campus Center.

Neither of the chairs were outside the residence during the officers’ initial search.

The officer informed the other officer of the chairs, and the first officer began interviewing the subjects about where the chairs came from and who they belonged to. 

Both students claimed they purchased the chairs online and possessed them for a while.

When the officer said the chairs were not outside the residence during the first search, both brothers gave different, inconsistent reasons why the chairs may not have been outside.

The officer told the brothers that if they started being truthful, then she would recommend them to Winthrop University Judicial Affairs. However, if they continued to lie, then both would face criminal charges.

Both brothers confessed to stealing the two chairs from the community concourse area of the campus center on a prior night and placing them in their residence.

One officer notified another officer and told him to arrive at the residence with a truck so the chairs could be transported to the police department.

The other officer recommended the students to Winthrop University Judicial Affairs, and the chairs were returned to Manning Gibson of Facilities Design and Development to be returned to the campus center.

PUBLIC DISORDERLY CONDUCT (9/14/10)

A Rock Hill Police Department reporting officer was dispatched to Ebenezer Avenue for a white male wearing a white shirt and black pants, who was sleeping under a vehicle parked in a driveway.

The male got out from under the vehicle and began walking down Ebenezer Avenue in the direction of Cherry Road.

The officer was able to locate the male on Ebenezer Avenue, who was being held up by a second male. The officer detected a strong odor of alcohol on the male.

The second male said he was out walking his dog when he spotted the male staggering on the sidewalk. He was attempting to help the male back down the sidewalk to the male’s home.

The officer asked the first male how much he had to drink.

The male said he had “too much to drink.”

He was arrested and transported to Rock Hill City Jail.

PETTY LARCENY (9/10/10)

At 8 a.m., a female student went to the Winthrop Police Department to report that her bike had been stolen from the bike rack in front of the Courtyard.

She said she last saw her mint green Huffy Cruiser with a brown seat on Friday when she locked it to the bike rack.

She said she noticed it was missing on Monday on her way to class.

She also said there are several bicycles on campus that look similar to hers, but she took all of the stickers off hers.

She was issued a Victim Notification Form.

TRESPASSING (1st OFFENSE) (9/18/10)

While talking with another officer at the Student Activity Center, an officer observed a man enter and pay the admittance fee while handing over his ID for recording. The officer recognized the subject as an individual possibly under Trespass Notice.

When questioned, the subject told police to “check his ID,” and that “I ain’t no felon.” 

After several attempts, the man admitted to having a trespass notice against him for being in the West Center without approval.

The man was arrested and reissued another trespass notice.

PUBLIC DISORDERLY CONDUCT (INTOXICATION) (9/19/10) 

A reporting officer at the Student Activity Center investigated several reports of a man being disruptive and combative in front of University Place Apartments. 

Both Winthrop police and Rock Hill police were dispatched to the area for a fight in progress, but on arriving all individuals fled.

The reporting officer returned to the SAC where he found the subject in question passed out on the floor, and observed a female trying to wake him up.

The subject was staggering and appeared to be confused about his whereabouts, and his speech was slurred.

The subject was placed under arrest for public disorderly conduct, and became more confused and disruptive after being told he was under arrest.