Friday October 5, 2001

A UA employee called university police Wednesday after he noticed a vending machine was broken into on campus, reports stated.

University of Arizona Police Department officers arrived at the scene, 1428 E. University Blvd., and saw that the metal bar that locked a Dole juice machine was broken. Dole employees told police that $300 worth of juice was stolen, as was $50 in coins.

The suspects did not open the bill acceptor and the Dole employee was able to recover the $10 in bills left in the machine.

There are no suspects or witnesses at this time.

A Tucson man was asked to leave a university library after police heard him snoring Wednesday, reports stated.

Officers were on the third floor of the Library of Medicine, 1501 N. Campbell Ave., when they heard loud snoring. Officers approached the man, who was sleeping on two chairs that were pushed together.

Police awoke the man and asked if he was ill. The man told police that he was sick, but did not want any medical attention. When asked what affiliation he had with the UA, the man told police that he was an alumnus and he was studying, reports stated.

Officers recognized the man from previous contacts with him at the library. Police had warned him twice this semester to leave the building, but they failed to document those incidents, reports stated.

The man was told that this incident would be documented and that if he returned to the UA campus he could be arrested for trespassing. An employee at the library told officers that students have complained that they have had trouble studying because of the man's loud snoring, reports stated.

A UA student flagged down police Wednesday near campus after someone let air out of his car's tires, reports stated.

The student told officers that he parked his car along a curb at East Drachman Street and North Warren Avenue. He was in the library Tuesday night, and when he returned to his vehicle, one of the tires was out of air.

The student tried to drive away, but the flat tire broke away from the rim of the wheel. He told officers that his vehicle will require professional repairs, reports stated.

Police told the student that they intend to speak with the residents of the house the student parked in front of. The student told officers he doubts that those residents were responsible for the flat tire.

The student has parked in the neighborhood several times before and has been the victim of similar acts of vandalism.

A motorist flagged down police Wednesday morning after he saw several people fighting near the area of East Sixth Street and North Euclid Avenue, reports stated.

The driver told police that a red car and a white car were involved in the incident. Police caught up with a vehicle matching the red car's description at East Eighth Street and North Euclid Avenue.

Police spoke to the passenger, Joshua Michael, 19, of the 800 block of North Ninth Avenue. Michael told police that he and another passenger had been fighting each other.

When officers asked him to step out of the car, they noticed a small baggie of a green, leafy substance. Police suspected that the substance was marijuana, and confirmed their suspicion by using a K9 unit, reports stated.

When speaking with police, Michael was seen swaying in a circular motion, staggering three or four times. He also had red, watery eyes, reports stated.

He told police he had drunk four beers and smoked some marijuana a few hours earlier. However, Michael told officers that the baggie and its contents were not his, and he denied knowing who it belonged to.

Michael was cited and released for suspicion of unlawful possession of marijuana and being a minor in possession of alcohol, reports stated.

A Tucson man was arrested near campus Wednesday morning after police found a shotgun in his car, reports stated.

Police pulled over Ernest Vasquez, 25, for driving at night with no lights on. When officers learned that he did not have a driver's license, he was asked to exit the vehicle. Officers looked in the car and found a towel on the floorboard of the car. Underneath the towel they saw a 12-gauge shotgun.

Vasquez was arrested and taken to Pima County Jail on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon and driving on a suspended license, reports stated.

A UA student called police Wednesday after his bike was stolen from a campus residence hall, reports stated.

He told police that he locked his bike Saturday to the racks outside of Coronado Residence Hall, 822 E. Fifth St. When the student returned on Monday, the $250 mountain bike was gone.

He told officers that the key had broken off into the lock. Officers found the lock in a nearby bush. The lock was placed into UAPD evidence, reports stated.

Police Beat is compiled from official University of Arizona Police Department Records. For a complete list of UAPD activity, the daily resume can be found at www.uapd.arizona.edu..