Police Blotter

Drugs, alcohol and politics

Timothy Spierings

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The following information was obtained from the UW-Eau Claire Police Department records.

Miscalculation

An officer was dispatched to the Davies Center on April 15 at about 7:15 p.m. regarding a theft case.

The officer made contact with a male subject on the first floor near the food court. The Communication Center said an unknown suspect had taken the subject’s TI-84 graphing calculator from room 266.

The Communication Center also said the subject did not have any possible suspects regarding the theft of his graphing calculator.

The subject said he had left his black pencil bag that had contained his TI-84 calculator, and had gone to grab his pencil bag from the Oasis room when he observed that his calculator was missing.

Upon arrival to the room, the subject observed his graphing calculator sitting on the table that he had left it on earlier in the day.

The subject stated that a theft had not occurred and everything was accounted for.

The officer answered the subject’s questions and cleared from Davies.

Grass in Governors

A Governor’s Hall resident assistant contacted university police about a drug complaint on April 11 around 8:27 p.m.

The resident assistant said she had been made aware of a drug complaint about an hour ago, but had not been in the building.

Upon arrival, the officer made contact with the resident assistant in the hall director’s office.

The resident assistant said she had been made aware of possible marijuana use within a room. Once she returned to campus, she went to the room and detected a strong odor of burnt marijuana from within.

The resident assistant also said she sniffed around several other door frames within the surrounding area, but was unable to detect the odor of marijuana.

The resident assistant told the officer she had detected the scent of marijuana about five minutes prior to the officer’s arrival on scene.

The officer went to the area of the complaint to attempt to locate the scent of marijuana. He smelled around the door frame of the room and was able to detect a faint odor of marijuana.

He smelled around several other door frames, but was unable to smell the scent of marijuana near them.

The officer knocked on the door of the room, which was answered by a resident of the room. The officer introduced himself and explained his reason for making contact.

The subject verbally identified himself and said he was alone in the room. The officer asked for consent to enter the room, which the subject allowed.

Once inside the room, the officer was able to detect a faint odor of burnt marijuana.

The officer asked the subject if he had been smoking marijuana within the room. The subject initially hesitated, but admitted to smoking marijuana in his room about 30 minutes prior to the officer’s arrival.

The subject said he typically smoked marijuana in the woods located around campus, but had decided to smoke in his room that  particular night.

The subject said he had only started smoking marijuana about one month prior and had never gotten into trouble for drug use before.

The officer observed the subject’s eyes were completely red and glossy in appearance. He asked the subject where he had been keeping his drug related paraphernalia.

The subject retrieved a small orange prescription bottle from his top desk drawer. Inside, the officer observed a “one hitter” pipe with black burn residue and green leafy plant material.

The officer asked for consent to search the subject’s items within the rooms, which the subject allowed after indicating his half of the room.

The officer conducted a search of the subject’s room, but did not find anything of interest.

The officer conducted a records check on the subject and found the subject had no wants, was not on probation and was without any prior drug-related offenses.

The officer completed an Eau Claire County Proxy form for the subject, where the subject scored as a medium risk for reoffending.

The officer then advised the subject that he was eligible to participate in the Eau Claire County Diversion Program and explained the program to him.

The subject said he wished to participate in the program and signed the agreement form after the officer read the form to him.

The officer asked if the subject had any questions, to which he responded he did not. The officer took custody of the seized drug-related items and transported them to the UW-Eau Claire Police Department for processing.

Bye-bye bike

An officer met with a male subject on April 10 at 3:45 p.m. regarding a bike theft.

The subject said he noticed his bicycle was missing from the parking racks underneath McIntyre Library at about 11:30 p.m. on Friday, April 5. He said he had locked it to a rack at the beginning of the spring 2019 semester in early February.

The subject said he used a cable combination lock to loop it through the frame and rim of his bicycle, and then secured it around the bicycle rack.

The subject said he did not give anyone permission to take his bicycle and he did not know who may have done so. He also said he was unsure on the exact timeframe when his bicycle was taken.

The subject said the bicycle was custom built by him and his uncle using a black, Cannondale mountain bike frame with white letters. He did not know the serial number of the frame.

The subject gave a description of the bicycle, mentioning the tires and types of brakes on it, as well as the plastic bag over the seat and the grey water bottle holder. The subject estimated that it would cost him approximately $400 to replace the bicycle.

The subject also said his cable combination lock was missing from the bicycle racks.

The officer requested the subject to complete a written statement form and loss/damage form and gave him a business card and a victim informational pamphlet. 

The officer answered the subject’s questions regarding the theft, then the subject left from the office.

Spierings can be reached at [email protected].