By Bryon Wells
Arizona Daily Wildcat
March 26, 1998

Police Beat

University police arrested a Tucson man Tuesday for outstanding warrants after an officer heard him loudly talking to himself on the UA Mall.

The officer was walking on the Mall at 11:10 p.m. near the Kuiper Space Sciences building, 1629 E. University Blvd., when she heard a man shouting but "talking to no one in particular," police reports stated.

The man spotted the officer, turned and walked away toward University Boulevard, reports stated.

The officer recognized Lev A. Olson, 36, of a general delivery address, from a previous arrest, and discovered he had two warrants for his arrest for failure to appear in court on false reporting and threats charges, reports stated.

The officer followed Olson and arrested him near Palm Shadow Apartments, 1815 E. Speedway Blvd.

A search of Olson's backpack revealed a ceramic smoking pipe with burnt marijuana residue and a pack of Zig Zag cigarette papers.

Olson was taken to Pima County Jail and booked for the warrants and for possession of drug paraphernalia.

A concerned mother called university police Monday to report that somebody gave her 17-year-old son alcohol earlier this month at Yuma Residence Hall, 1107 E. North Campus Drive.

The boy is a resident of Hopi Lodge, 1440 E. Fourth St., and is studying at the University of Arizona as part of an escalated education program, police reports stated.

The woman told police on March 6 that somebody called her and said her son had been drinking heavily at Yuma Hall, where he then lived, and had to be cleaned up and put in a room to "sleep it off," reports stated.

Her son called her the next day and said he was all right, and later told her that underage drinking was frequent at the dorm, reports stated.

The teenager has since moved to Hopi Lodge, and the officer referred his mother to Health Promotion and Preventive Services and the Tucson Council on Alcoholism.

A student told university police somebody took about $970 worth of stereo equipment from his car Monday while it was parked in a UA-rented parking lot at East Speedway Boulevard and North Forgeus Avenue.

The student told police he parked his car in the lot at 9:15 a.m. and then walked to class.

He returned at 2:15 p.m. to find that somebody had broken into his 1979 Chevy Camaro and taken his compact disc player, stereo, speakers and various CDs, police reports stated.

Police did not find any signs of damage or fingerprints.

A student reported his backpack was stolen Tuesday while he attended a meeting at the Drama and Theater building, 1025 N. Olive Road.

The student told police he left his pack alone in a hallway while he attended a meeting in a first-floor room at 4:15 p.m., police reports stated.

He returned 15 minutes later to find his $40 backpack missing, along with its contents, including nine Zip discs and a checkbook.

University police Tuesday responded to a report that somebody had broken into the Bear Down Gym, 1428 E. University Blvd.

An officer arrived at the gym at 12:25 a.m. and found that somebody had opened the door and the gate to the main floor at the north entrance, police reports stated.

While checking the building, the officer called for backup after hearing what sounded like somebody running in the gym, reports stated.

Police searched the gym and found three unlocked gates, but did not see any damage or anybody still in the building, reports stated.

A UA employee told university police somebody had taken his tote bag Tuesday from his work area at the Harvill building, 1103 E. Second St.

The employee told police he had gone out several times to smoke between 2 and 5 p.m., but didn't realize his canvas bag was missing until he prepared to go home, police reports stated. Inside the $20 bag were his credit cards and several utility bills.

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