Noisy Neighbors
Sept. 5, 2011 – 4:39 p.m.
Location: Glades Park Towers
After a confrontation with her suitemates, a resident student contacted her parents, changed her room and then called the police.
According to reports, on Sept. 1, 2011 at 10:30 p.m., her suitemates were hanging out with their friends and being loud. The student asked them to keep it down because she had class in the morning, but they remained noisy.
The next day, she found a note on her door that said “you better be gone before we get back or there’s going to be problems” and one of her suitemates began writing derogatory comments about her on Facebook.
The student felt threatened and unsafe in her room, and so requested a room change.
Police met with the suitemates, who said she was slamming dresser drawers and talking to them in a condescending way. They admitted to placing a note on her door, but said it was not written in a threatening tone.
Police told both parties to refrain from contacting one another and the student was moved to a different room.
Lesson learned: Living with other people involves a lot of respect and cooperation. If you have a problem with your suitemates, confront the issue head on instead of hiding behind a note or your Facebook page.
Keep it in your pants
Sept. 5, 2011 – 8:05 p.m.
Location: El Rio Trail, University Village Apartments
A student was going out for a run when she noticed a man following her, masturbating.
She had left University Village Apartments (UVA) around 7:10 p.m. for a run on the El Rio trail, which runs near the canal between Glades Rd. and Yamato Rd., when she noticed a man wearing a black t-shirt and sitting on a bench. He had covered his face with his t-shirt while he exposed himself and masturbated.
She continued running south on the trail, then turned around to run northbound. She arrived at the place where she originally saw the man and he was still there, masturbating. She kept running north to get away from him and then turned around to head south again.
She was running toward UVA when she noticed the man again. She became frightened because she thought he was following her. She ran into the lobby of the UVA and told the resident assistant at the front desk, who then called for police assistance.
She believed the man to be an FAU student because he looked to be in his early 20’s.
Police went to look for the man, around the trail and in the UVA, but they were unable to find anyone matching the man’s description.
Lesson learned: If you are going out for a run, always bring a cell phone in case of an emergency or run with a friend. If you feel threatened or unsafe in any way, return to your dorm room as quickly as possible and call for help.
Lost…then found
Sept. 6, 2011 – 6:03 a.m.
Location: Glades Park Towers (GPT)
A resident student left his Diamondback mountain bicycle in the bike rack outside of GPT with a “U” shaped lock on it, but not locked.
The next day he noticed it was missing and called the police. According to reports, he didn’t give anyone permission to use or borrow his bike, but police later located it in front of the Oxley Athletic Center.
The owner confirmed that it was, indeed, his bicycle.
Lesson learned: Always secure your belongings. If you have a lock on your bicycle, there’s no excuse not to use it properly.
Paralyzed Parking
Sept. 7, 2011 – 9:00 a.m.
Location: Parking Lot 1
A student’s handicapped parking decal was taken from her when police discovered that the decal belonged to her dead grandfather.
Police were patrolling Lot 1 when they noticed a student pull into a handicapped parking spot. When questioned about her handicap decal, she admitted it belonged to her grandfather.
The officer looked up the name listed under the decal and discovered that its owner was deceased.
She said that she didn’t know she wasn’t allowed to use the parking decal and told police that she had a bad back and a hard time walking.
The decal was confiscated and the student was charged $250 for parking in a disabled parking space. She was also given a Dean’s Referral.
Lesson learned: It’s an awful idea to use a handicapped parking decal if it’s not yours. It’s even worse to use your dead grandfather’s parking decal. Not only will there be a hefty fine, but students already pay parking fees. How hard is it to park in a garage, or wait for a spot to become available?
Pot Problems
Sept. 7 – 3:14 p.m.
Location: Indian River Towers (IRT), East Tower
Police officers responded to a complaint about a marijuana smell coming from a room in IRT. While waiting for the elevator, an officer noticed four guys walking from the stairwell. One student began walking faster after seeing the police.
It turns out that the student lived in the same room that the officers were just about to investigate. He voluntarily returned to the room with them and gave written and verbal permission to search his room.
The officers found a black Sentry safe in the room that reeked of pot the closer they got to it.
According to reports, the student said he did not have a key to the safe and denied ownership multiple times. Police asked for the his car keys to verify this information, and right on the ring was a little black key that said “Sentry” on it. Still, he denied ownership and said he couldn’t give police the permission to search the safe because it wasn’t his.
The student was brought back to the station and was questioned. He later admitted that the safe was his and the police went back to conduct another search of the room.
In the safe, the officers found two jars containing plastic baggies filled with a total of 94 grams of pot and a vaporizer. Officers also found prescription pills and rolling papers underneath the student’s bed.
The student was placed under arrest with an “intent to sell,” issued a FAU statewide trespass and was suspended from the school for four years.
Lesson learned: Doing drugs is one thing, but dealing them is another. 94 grams is a LOT of weed. It’s definitely a bad idea to keep that large of an amount of pot, especially in your dorm room. Getting paid for it doesn’t outweigh the fact that you will face more serious charges outside of FAU. Not worth it.
Burning down the house
Sept. 9, 2011 – 9:09 p.m.
Location: Innovation Village Apartments (IVA) North
A resident student was about to cook chicken, when the grease in the pot caught on fire. Her whole kitchen filled up with smoke, forcing everyone to evacuate the north tower of IVA.
At around 9:26, p.m., the fire alarm went off and the entire first floor was evacuated. When police arrived at the apartment, they saw smoke and the charred pot on the kitchen floor.
They had a hard time navigating through all of the smoke, so eventually all the residents in the building were evacuated.
Officers met with the resident of the room who told them that she had started the fire.
According to reports, she was preparing to cook chicken and put a cover on top of a pot of grease, but soon noticed smoke coming from the pot. She lifted up the cover and saw flames rising.
She threw the pot on the ground and tried to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher. She then left the room.
The student sustained first and second degree burns on her legs and hands. She was treated by paramedics on site because she refused to be transported to a hospital.
The student was temporarily relocated to another room in the building.
Lesson learned: Always keep an eye on what you’re cooking, otherwise you could cause serious damage to yourself or others and to the building you’re living in.
Case of the CatCon Caper
Sept. 9, 2011 – 6:27 p.m.
Location: Lot 33
A student returned to his Toyota Tacoma pickup, only to find that the Catalytic Converter on his car had been stolen.
At around 6:10 p.m. he started up his car and noticed a loud sound. He then noticed that the Catalytic Converter was cut off of his vehicle.
Police arrived at the scene, where they confirmed that the Catalytic Converter had been dragged out from underneath the vehicle.
There was no surveillance footage of the area during the time of the theft.
Lesson learned: Nothing is sacred. This incident comes down to luck. So if you’re lucky, hopefully nobody will steal essential parts off of your car.
Public Puking
Sept. 10, 2011 – 12:17 am..
Location: Innovation Village North Courtyard
After a complaint to Housing Director Jill Eckardt, police arrived to the Innovation Village North courtyard where they found a student sitting on the ground, surrounded by vomit.
According to reports, the student was drinking vodka with friends at an off-campus party. Police checked his driver’s license, and found out that he was 18.
Two other students said they would take the ill student back to his room, but shortly thereafter, one of the students approached police saying that the student needed medical attention because he was ill again.
Boca Raton Fire Rescue medics attended to the student, who refused any further medical attention.
The student returned to his dorm room and was given a referral.
Lesson learned: If you’re not legally allowed to drink, don’t do it, and if you do end up drinking and need medical attention, take it. It’s better than being sick and throwing up all night.
