Police Beat

Valentine C. Benton, 24, was seen yelling at a group of students in front of the union, 1303 E. University Blvd. when police arrived at 10:10 a.m.

Police told Benton to stop, but she continued to yell at the group, police reports stated.

Benton, of a general delivery address, had reportedly swung her bag at one student, and officers told Benton to drop it. Benton refused and began to yell at the officers, reports stated.

Police attempted to take the satchel out of Benton's hand, and she became "irrational," reports stated.

Benton was "verbally abusive," dropped her bag and began to walk away from the officers. Police handcuffed Benton and put her in a patrol car.

Officers spoke with one student who said she had seen Benton wandering around the UA Mall. The student told police she, along with a group of friends, were sitting on the lawn when Benton approached them after allegedly harassing a male student sitting nearby, police reports stated.

The student said Benton directed racial statements at her and the other group members and then began to swing her bag at them.

The male student who Benton allegedly harassed earlier told police she yelled at him, made "disturbing comments and gestures" and called him a "honky," reports stated.

The male student said Benton told a passerby he had called her a "black whore," reports stated.

The student told officers Benton clasped a green charm around her neck and said she was going to place "evil powers on him," reports stated.

The male student also said Benton lifted up her skirt, exposed her buttocks to him and slapped it with her hand, reports stated.

Benton allegedly told the male student her father was a Black Panther member and that he "did not like white people," reports stated.

Benton was taken to Pima County Jail and booked.

A student called police early Monday morning after she and another student were allegedly harassed by a male acquaintance, police reports stated.

The students, both residents of Manzanita-Mohave dorm, 1557 E. Sixth St., called police at midnight to report they had received messages from a man on their answering machines.

In the messages, he said it would be "a good fucking idea" for them to call him back. Police noticed the man sounded agitated in the messages, reports stated.

Both students told police they were scared of the man and that he "does not take 'no' for an answer," reports stated.

One student told police the man had taken her Kermit the Frog doll and refused to give it back to her until she spoke with him. She also said the doll had "sentimental value," for her, reports stated.

Police reports did not indicate how the man gained access to the students' possessions.

The student told police the man targeted them between Nov. 1 and March 1, reports stated. The other student told officers the man assaulted her and damaged some of her property, reports stated.

The female student said between Nov. 1 and Jan. 1, the man grabbed her around the throat on three different occasions. She stated the man had a firm grip, but she could still breathe, reports stated.

According to the student, the man grabbed her around the throat in January and demanded $80 so he could pay his rent, reports stated.

The student also told police that the man threatened to kill her and her boyfriend, a California resident, reports stated.

She also stated that he burned her prom picture during a November incident, reports stated.

The first student who contacted officers called the man while police were in the room. She told him to leave her alone.

The man called right back and an officer spoke with him, telling him not to bother the two women, reports stated.

The officer went back to UAPD and called the man, who told police he never grabbed the student by the throat. He said he put his arm around her on Nov. 1 after speaking with her about "her abortion," reports stated.

The man said he did not know if he, or the boyfriend from California, was the father because she was "sleeping with both of them," reports stated.

The man denied ever saying he would kill the student, reports stated.

He also told police when he was 14, his little sister "accused him of something" but he refused to elaborate, reports stated.

Police took the answering machine messages and the burned photograph into evidence.