Drinking in public

A man was arrested Wednesday for drinking in public and having an outstanding warrant for his arrest after he took a drink from a beer while talking with police officers, reports stated.

At about noon, police saw a man sitting on the ground underneath a stairwell at Coconino Residence Hall, 1003 N. Olive Ave. The man was sitting in a high-pedestrian traffic area, visible to people passing by. An officer approached the man an asked what he was doing. The man just looked away and said nothing. The officer saw two open cans of beer on the ground beside him.

The officer told the man that it was illegal to drink beer in public and that he would be arrested if he was drinking beer. The man then took one of the open beer cans and took a drink, reports stated.

The officer noticed the beer enter his mouth and some of the beer spilled on the ground. The officer ordered the man to stop drinking, put the beer down, and show the officer his identification. The man did not have any identification, but verbally identified himself to the officer.

A police dispatcher advised the officer that the man had an outstanding warrant for arrest from the Tucson Police Department for shoplifting and loitering.

The man became argumentative and confrontational with the officer and said, "Take me to jail," reports stated.

The man was arrested and later taken to Pima County Jail for booking, reports stated.

Suspicious activity

Police advised a man Wednesday that his technique for meeting women could get him arrested, after police saw the man talking to a female student and touching her, reports stated.

At about 4 p.m., police went to the east side of the Student Union Memorial Center, 1303 E. University Blvd., in response to a report of a man who was wearing blue scrubs with a red stain on the front going up to girls, asking their names and touching them.

Police noticed the man approach a female student sitting at a table east of the student union, talking on her cell phone. Police saw the man introduce himself to the student, shake her hand and sit next to her for about twenty minutes.

Officers saw him move his chair closer to the student and begin to hold and at times caress her left hand while maintaining a conversation with her.

The man touched her left knee and patted her left thigh. The student did not appear to reject the man's advances.

As officers approached the man, he kissed the student's left hand. Police spoke with the man and asked him if he was a UA student, and if not, what his purpose was for being on campus.

The man said he was a Pima Community College student who was on campus just to hang out and meet people. He said he moves frequently and has learned to meet females quickly, in a straightforward manner. He said he had just met the student and felt she might be uncomfortable but was not sure, reports stated.

Police told him his style and technique for meeting females could get him arrested.

The student did not wish to press charges.

The man was warned for trespassing and advised to leave campus. He did so without incident.

Later, police spoke to the student who said she could tell there was something "wrong" with him and she did not want to do anything that would make him upset. She said his presence made her feel uncomfortable, but she did not feel like she was in any immediate danger, reports stated. As police walked back to the patrol car, they were flagged down by another student who said she saw the man walking northbound on North Mountain Avenue toward East Speedway Boulevard. She said she saw him on campus on Sept. 13, near the Old Main fountain approaching women, grabbing them, and trying to get close to them. She said one student looked so uncomfortable that she intervened and led another student away from the man.

Officer requested that the man be flagged down for trespassing, reports stated.

Fire extinguished

An officer put out a fire near a campus building by stepping on it Wednesday, reports stated.

At about 8:30 a.m., an employee reported a fire on the northeast side of the Purchasing and Stores Building, 603 N. Mountain Ave.

Police arrived and saw what appeared to be a box on fire. Police also saw two partially charred traffic barricades and a traffic cone next to the burning box.

The box appeared to have been filled with paper.

An officer extinguished the fire by stepping on it. The employee said when he arrived to the building he saw the box on fire. Police noticed most of the box had burned and that only ash remained. Officers did not notice any obvious signs of liquid fuel and saw no other signs of what might have caused the fire. Police spoke with several people at the scene and could not determine where the box had come from, or why it was there, reports stated.

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