By Bryon Wells
Arizona Daily Wildcat
March 3, 1998

Police Beat

Bryon Wells

A Tucson man was arrested on assault charges Friday after a UA student reported that he had intimidated her with a meat cleaver in the basement of the Memorial Student Union, 1303 E. University Blvd.

The student told university police she was using a computer in the Sam's Place computer lab at 10:40 p.m. when a man sat next to her and started to make a clinking noise, police reports stated.

The student looked over and saw that the man appeared to be tapping a large knife against his computer while he looked toward her with a "blank expression" on his face, reports stated.

The woman told police she left the lab but stopped near several men playing a video game when she realized the man had followed her.

The student told police that the man continued to stare at her, still holding the cleaver, as he passed the group and left the arcade.

The student was not hurt in the incident, reports stated.

Minutes later, police stopped Gregory B. Singer, 25, of the 1300 block of East Grant Road, riding a pink bicycle at East First Street near North Vine Avenue.

Singer got off of the bike and raised a cleaver from behind his back as an officer aimed his gun at him and told him to drop his weapon, reports stated.

Singer told police he had gotten the cleaver from a friend who had an extra one, and that he did not mean to frighten anybody, but said he understood why people who saw him walking with it would be afraid, reports stated.

Singer was booked into Pima County Jail on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and an additional charge of interfering with the peaceful conduct of an educational institution. He was released over the weekend.

A 26-year-old Tucson woman reported she was fondled Sunday by a band member hired to play at a wedding reception in the Arizona Stadium Club, 540 N. Vine Ave., police reports stated.

The woman, a caterer for the reception, told university police that she and fellow employees were cleaning up as the event, held in the stadium's banquet room, wound down about 10:30 p.m.

She told police they were serving coffee while the musicians were seated at a table, drinking and becoming obnoxious.

The woman told police she bent over to pour coffee into a pot when the man came up behind her and grabbed her breast, then tried to push her to the ground, reports stated.

The woman is pursuing sexual assault charges and the incident is still under investigation.

A UA employee was bitten Friday by a dog that had broken free of its leash near the Economics building, 1110 E. North Campus Drive.

The man told university police he was throwing out some trash when a dog ran up and bit his hand.

The employee refused treatment for the injury, and said the dog was probably just frightened, police reports stated.

The dog's owner arrived and told police that his dog had broken its leash, and added that his dog had all the necessary shots, reports stated.

An Air Force ROTC cadet Sunday reported that someone smashed a toilet inside South Hall, 1042 E. South Campus Drive, and buried a decorative boulder outside of the building.

The cadet told university police that a blue toilet, which had "Aim High" printed on it, was discovered smashed to pieces at 10 a.m. Sunday.

The commode was last seen intact at 5 p.m. Saturday, and the boulder, painted blue and also labeled "Aim High," was turned upside down and covered with dirt, police reports stated.

A woman was arrested Sunday night after university police found her harassing customers at Bear Down Laundry, 1108 E. Sixth St.

An university police officer arrived at 6:36 p.m. and told the woman to back away after he found her "toe to toe" with a young woman, reports stated.

The woman said, "These bitches are fucking with me," before being escorted outside, reports stated.

The woman was booked into Pima County Jail on charges of disorderly conduct and false information because she would not give officers her true name.

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