Police Blotter

Police responded to five total drug cases and two underage alcohol consumption cases on campus this week

Police+Blotter

Story by Sami West, Staff Writer

Disappearing act

UW-Eau Claire police responded to a report of the odor of marijuana on the fourth floor of Towers North at approximately 10:30 p.m. on Feb. 19.

A resident’s assistant had noticed the odor during nightly rounds and determined which room it appeared to be coming from, according to the police report.

After checking the entire hallway, the responding officer determined the odor to be coming from that same room. The officer heard noise from within the room.

While the officer was checking the hallway and waiting for another officer to assist with the matter, one male subject left the room. One to two minutes later, another male subject followed suit, according to the report.

Knocking on the door several times with no response, the responding officers failed to make contact that night.

At 11:39 p.m. Feb. 22, university police followed up. The officers knocked several times, but did not hear any noise or movement inside the room, ultimately receiving no response.

Maintaining his privacy

Two male subjects and one female subject received first offense underage alcohol consumption citations Feb. 21 in Oak Ridge Hall.

At approximately 10:10 p.m., campus police received a report from a resident assistant who detected the odor of marijuana emanating from a room on the first floor. She also believed the students were consuming alcohol.

After checking the entire floor, the responding officers heard loud music and detected the odor of marijuana coming from one particular room.

The officers knocked on the door and waited approximately 20 seconds for a response, according to the police report.

A male subject who claimed to reside in the room answered the door. He did not grant the officers permission to enter his room. After explaining why they had come, the officers asked him, and the other three subjects inside the room, two males and one female, to come to the hall director’s office for further investigation.

“A slight odor of intoxicants” emanated from the male resident of the room, according to the police report. The officers also noted he exhibited “glassy red eyes.”

The officers asked if they had recently used marijuana, but each subject denied any use, but admitted to consuming alcohol. Hoping to “maintain his privacy,” the male resident again denied the officers permission to search his room. Each subject received a Preliminary Breath Test.

UW-Eau Claire Police obtained a blood alcohol concentration of .04 from the male resident, .07 from the female subject, .00 from one of the male subjects, and .03 from the other. The male subject who had a BAC of .00 was free to leave at that point and did not receive any citations.

The female subject and two of the male subjects received underage alcohol consumption citations with a $263.50 fine, and non-mandatory court dates set for March.

The lights are on, but no one is home

Three Towers North residents and one minor received first offense underage alcohol consumption citations early Sunday morning, according to university police reports.

Police responded to a report at approximately 10:30-11 p.m. earlier that night of an unoccupied room on the sixth floor left open with the lights still on and several bottles of alcohol sitting out within the room.

The resident assistant was not able to make contact with the residents of the room until approximately 2:30 a.m. Upon hearing that one of the subjects was a minor, the resident assistant contacted police once again. The resident assistant informed the authorities that the subjects were not cooperating when asked to retrieve all of their alcohol.

When police arrived on scene, there were four female subjects inside the room and the door was still wide open. A box of Franzia Wine, an opened bottle of Svedka Vodka, an opened bottle of UV Vodka, an opened bottle of Barefoot Wine and 3 Budweiser beer cans lay in the middle of the floor inside the room, according to the police report.

A female subject who claimed to be the resident of the room allowed the officers entrance. She stated that she tried to be cooperative with her resident assistant, but could not remember where she had hidden her alcohol and it took her awhile to find it, according to the report.

The subject also advised the police that a 17-year-old high school friend was visiting for the weekend. Authorities detected the scent of intoxicants coming from each of the subjects inside the room; all admitted to drinking that night.

All four of the female subjects were given Preliminary Breath Tests. Campus police obtained a result of .17 BAC from the resident of the room, and scores of .01, .04 and .05 from the other subjects. Each received underage alcohol consumption citations with $263.50 fines and non-mandatory court dates.

After answering the girls’ questions and disposing of all of the alcohol inside of the women’s restroom, campus police cleared the scene.