Police Beat

Police Beat

Zach Thomas
Arizona Daily Wildcat
February 19, 1996

University police warned three men Thursday for selling speakers on University property without administration permission or a Tucson city license to sell products. Detectives believe the men were grossly misrepresenting the value and quality of the speak ers, which were for sale on the scene for $300 apiece.

At 3:06 p.m., officers responded to the Visitor's Center parking lot at East University Boulevard and North Cherry Avenue where the three men were operating out of a 1994 white GMC van. None of the men could produce registration documents or proof of insu rance for the vehicle, police reports stated.

One of the men told police he makes his living going around the country selling these speakers. When he removed one from its box, detectives said it did not appear to be worth anywhere near $300. Police reports indicate the speakers consisted of a plain t ower pressboard case covered with a cheap laminate and three internal speaker components.

The men were cited for registration and insurance violations and were advised that they needed to have written permission to sell items on university property.

Subsequent attempts to contact the speakers' manufacturers and distributors proved unsuccessful.


A female resident of Coronado Residence Hall, 822 E. Fifth St., called police after someone attempted to steal her 1986 Buick Sommerset.

Between 1 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Thursday, someone smashed the passenger window and gutted the steering column in the area of the turn signal.

Police disabled the car to deter the perpetrators should they return.


A UA employee called police after an attempted burglary at the Ina E. Gittings Building, 1713 E. University Blvd.

Sometime between 5 p.m. Feb. 1 and 10 a.m. Feb. 2, someone attempted to enter the building by breaking a window frame weld on the southwest side of the structure.

Facilities management was notified to repair the breach. The employee assured police that no items were stolen and said the perpetrator may have been seeking shelter from the rain.


A female resident of Navajo-Pinal-Sierra Residence Hall called university police after she reportedly ingested a combination of Tylenol, Codeine, Prozac and two lines of cocaine.

The student denied trying to hurt herself.

She told police she obtained the cocaine from an acquaintance and was later taken to University Medical Center for evaluation.

Hospital personnel took several samples of her blood. A sample was forwarded to the DPS lab for drug screening.

She was treated and released.


University police arrested two men Thursday on charges of unlawful possession of marijuana and other misdemeanor charges.

Steven S. Grafanakis, 22, of the 1800 block of Blackledge Place, was driving his 1985 Chevrolet Camaro before being stopped by officers near the visitors' parking lot at the corner of East University Boulevard and North Cherry Avenue.

A vehicle search yielded a marijuana roach and a bag of buds in the car's ashtray, police reports stated. The man's hands also smelled moderately of marijuana.

He was cited for unlawful possession of marijuana, driving on a suspended license and driving without proof of insurance.

Field sobriety tests proved inconclusive to warrant a DUI.

The man was released at the scene.

In a separate incident, Matthew O. Shaw, 18, a resident of Graham-Greenlee Hall, 610 N. Highland Ave., was arrested at 10:12 p.m. Thursday after a resident assistant saw him with drug paraphernalia.

Police reports indicate Shaw held a water bong out toward the RA and asked, "Do you want this?"

The RA took the bong to the office and called police.

A room search yielded plant seeds, rolling papers, a cigarette roller, a syringe and a burnt spoon.

The student was cited for unlawful possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and released.


Police Beat is compiled from official University of Arizona Police Department reports.

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