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Young ROTC cadet commits suicide at home TIM WORDEN Daily Titan
An ROTC cadet and student at Cal State Fullerton committed suicide Tuesday night at his house in Huntington Beach. Roy Lopez, 21, who was on the ROTC’s color guard team and a class leader in his military science class, was known for his “beautiful big, bright smile” and his joking personality. Lopez shot himself in his bedroom of his family’s Huntington Beach home Tuesday around 5:30 p.m., said Lopez’s mother, Adriana Mraz. The official cause of death was still being investigated by the Orange County Coroner’s Office Wednesday night. “I can’t say anything until the autopsy is complete. We have to do our full investigation and examination,” said Allison O’Neil, supervising deputy coroner for the Coroner’s Office. Lopez was a sophomore psychol-
ogy major in his third semester in the ROTC program but was not in the Army yet. ROTC cadets have two years to contract with the Army, meaning they pledge to join the Army upon graduating from the program. Lopez was enrolled in ROTC classes, but he was not yet contracted, said Lt. Col. Kelley Donham, a military science professor and ROTC instructor at CSUF. Lopez was planning on contracting in January. ROTC members were notified about Lopez’s suicide in a meeting before physical training at 6 a.m. Wednesday, according to Alexandra Montiel, a public affairs officer for CSUF ROTC. “All I can speak for Roy is that he was always positive and happy and joking around so everyone basically was in shock that he would have done such a thing because he never gave a sign for anything,” said Montiel. Lopez was following his older brother’s footsteps in wanting to join the Army, Mraz said. SEE DEATH, 2
LOCAL | Crime
Photographer arrested for luring underage girls BRIAN DAY Daily Titan
A self-described photographer who showed up at a Fullerton McDonald’s restaurant expecting to meet two teenage girls for a risque photo shoot over the weekend instead met with police officers, authorities said. Coopy Boyer, 42, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of contacting minors with intent to commit a sexual offense, but was released from custody Wednesday without charges pending further investigation, according to Fullerton police officials and county booking records. He was listed as a resident of San Jose, but was believed to have been staying in Huntington Beach. In the meantime, detectives reached out to the public in an effort to contact any other potential victims who have had suspicious encounters with Boyer, Fullerton police officials said in a written statement. The two alleged victims, ages 15 and 16, met Boyer after he approached them Nov. 21 in the area of Goldenwest Street and Warner Avenue, Fullerton police Sgt. Jeff Stuart said. One of the girls lives in Fullerton part-time. “He stated his name as James Keong,” said Stuart. The man claimed to represent a photography company called Zoom Exposure Photography.
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CAMPUS | Tragedy
‘Beautiful big, bright smile’ will be missed by family, friends and ROTC cadets
SPORTS 8
The man told the underage girls they had a look he was seeking for his photographs and asked them if they would be interested in modeling, Stuart said. The girls gave the man—later identified as Boyer—their phone numbers, he added. “Over the next three days, they exchanged text messages back and forth,” the sergeant said, but the communications from Boyer grew more dubious. Boyer requested to come to the home of one of the girls, where he would take “sexy photographs” of the girls “playing dress up,” Stuart said. He further told the girls he would bring alcohol with him. “He was adamant about not having any parents around when they did the photo shoots,” Stuart said. Alarmed by the suspicious behavior, the girls reported their encounters with the man claiming to be a photographer to Fullerton police, he said. Police arranged for Boyer to go to a McDonald’s restaurant at Orangethorpe Avenue and Brookhurst Road, believing he would be meeting the teenage girls, Stuart said. Boyer arrived in a black Toyota 4-Runner and attempted to flee when he saw police, according to the police statement. SEE RISQUE, 2
dailytitan.com
TWILIGHT HOOKAH LOUNGE GOES UP IN SMOKE
ROBERT HUSKEY / Daily Titan
Hookah hot spot cools
Owners Hishan and Nadia Abdullah mourn the 4-3 decision by the Fullerton Planning Commission to relocate their family business.
Smoking lounge has six months to ease local policymakers’ concerns or relocate RAYMOND MENDOZA Daily Titan
Fullerton Planning Commission brought down the gavel Wednesday on a final decision to revoke the conditional use permit for the Twilight Hookah Lounge on Chapman Avenue in Fullerton. The decision was made during a committee meeting where the sole subject of the night was the Twilight Hookah Lounge and the businesses’ violation of its conditional use permit. The Planning Commission voted 4-3 in favor of revocation, with a stay in motion to allow the current owners to have time to look for a new location for Twilight Hookah. The stay will allow the hookah hot spot to remain at its current location until May 31, 2013. During the past few months, the lounge’s lease has been in jeopardy due to constant neighborhood complaints of noise, litter and smell. Yet the business was not without its support with employees and loyal customers taking their concerns to City Hall to keep the hookah lounge open, declaring it an institution for friendly gatherings. During the discussion between committee members, Commissioner David Musante compared the Twilight Hookah Lounge problems akin to the problems that Fullerton had in the past with local bars serving alcohol. Musante was in favor of giving Twilight Hookah three months to fix the problems at hand, citing the need for a good business in Fullerton, yet he also cried foul on how long Twilight Hoo-
ROBERT HUSKEY / Daily Titan
Council Chairman Scott Lansburg presided over the hearings that lasted over seven hours and two meetings to come to a definitive ruling.
kah violated the conditional use permit. “The most sensible thing to do would be continue this for three months and at the end of that three months if things have not improved I would vote to revoke,” said Musante. Musante even tried reasoning a motion to keep the Twilight Hookah Lounge for “three months,” he said. “Besides, it’s the
Christmas season,” he added. Commissioner Peter Gambino was in favor of the revocation of Twilight Hookah’s permit on the grounds that the business has had opportunities in the past to adhere to the city’s conditions and they have not been met. SEE HOOKAH, 3
CAMPUS | Bizarre
On-campus vendors tout diet variety LAUREN TORRES Daily Titan
MARIAH CARRILLO / For the Daily Titan
Students line up outside a food truck that offers alternatives to normal food choices. CONTACT US AT DTNEWSDESK@GMAIL.COM
As students step onto campus, it is likely that vendors of some sort will already have their spaces situated and anticipating profit. Vendors on campus range from selling clothing, shoes, accessories and food items as well. Food trucks have become the new dining experience for many students and faculty on campus. It is more of the idea of a quick pick up that is generating a buzz. The most popular and longest-running “food” truck, widely known on campus as Juice it Up!, has been selling at Cal State Fullerton since 1995.
Alexander Arlow, a CSUF alumnus and manager of the corporate store/ truck, said the benefit of working a food truck versus a store is that they operate as an assembly line, which creates a more fast pace working environment. “It’s quick and efficient and customers are satisfied,” said Arlow. “The down part about working in a food truck is the storage space—that becomes a problem.” According to Arlow, the way the school benefits monetarily from businesses is that a percent of their earnings goes to paying rent monthly to maintain a regular spot on campus. “I want to say about 8 percent or so of the earnings go to the school monthly,” Arlow said.
According to Arlow, he said he is also encouraged by the corporate office to hire students as employees. Juice it Up!’s truck is located between the Humanities Building and the Education Classroom Building and is open Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Another popular food truck on campus, Barcelona, specializes in Spanish bistro and tapas. Barcelona food truck made its debut three semesters ago and has gathered a large and loyal following. Santiago Jose Nocito, co-owner and manager of the truck, started the business with his brother. SEE VENDORS, 2