CRIME BEAT

Welcome back Forum Readers! Did you miss me? The Forum is back in full swing and I hope you’re ready.

Criminal Trespass and Fleeing

On Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, dispatch received a call from Mr. Maurice Guest, the director of eStem High School, for a possible suspicious person.

Officer Tomeka Stacker was dispatched to eStem to check out the situation. Through dispatch communication, Officer Stacker found the suspect in Lot 5 heading south towards the Plaza.

When Officer Stacker made contact with the subject she asked them to come here. As stated in Officer Stacker’s narrative, the suspect said they were leaving and began to walk fast heading east behind the Plaza.

Officer Stacker followed the suspect with the patrol unit and got out of the vehicle to question him.

Officer Stacker asked the suspect what their name was and they mumbled a reply.

At this point, Assistant Chief Rommel Benjamin joined and told the individual to put their hands on the vehicle to conduct a pat down search to check for any weapons.

The suspect was told to drop the pencil that was in their possession and Officer Stacker and Assistant Chief Benjamin asked for their name and date of birth.

After their information was run through dispatch they found out the suspect had prior traffic and was an absconder. An absconder is an individual who runs away or flees to avoid arrest or prosecution.

As Assistant Chief Benjamin was placing handcuffs on the individual, the suspect began to flee toward Asher Ave. Assistant Chief Benjamin began to pursue the suspect with Officer Stacker close behind in her vehicle.

The subject ran out into the street and Officer Stacker made a U-turn around the suspect effectively cutting them off.

Officer Stacker yelled at the subject to get down on the ground and proceeded to double-lock handcuffs on the individual and placed them in the patrol unit.

After going to the department for more information on the warrant, it was found out the suspect had an active warrant and was then taken to the country jail for fleeing and trespassing.

And it appears the suspect did not learn his lesson and was taken into custody again on Jan. 23, 2023.

Officer George Perez and Assistant Chief Benjamin were dispatched to TRIO University Plaza for a disturbance.

They both made contact with the suspect and asked for their name and date of birth. The suspect finally gave Officer Perez and Assistant Chief Benjamin their information but not before refusing and becoming agitated.

It was then found out that the individual had a warrant from the Department of Parole and Probation.

The suspect was then taken into custody and transported to the Parole and Probation Office.

Suspicious Person at Ross Hall

On Jan. 20, 2023, Officer Aaron Birmingham and Detective Corporal Joshua Webb were dispatched to Ross Hall about a suspicious person entering the first-floor men’s restroom.

According to Officer Birmingham’s narrative, the custodian recognized the individual as they had encountered the suspect a week ago on the fifth floor of Ross Hall.

At the time, the suspect was cited for criminal trespass and had been told to stay off campus.

Detective Corporal Webb and Officer Birmingham arrived at Ross Hall at the same time as Sergeant Rodney Barnes, and the trio went to the first-floor men’s restroom.

Inside they found one of the stalls locked with miscellaneous items spread out on the floor.

Officer Aaron Birmingham called out to the suspect and he responded, “Yeah.” Officer Birmingham then told the suspect to finish up and come outside to talk to him, Sergeant Barnes and Detective Corporal Webb.

While waiting for the suspect to come out, Officer Birmingham had dispatch run the suspect’s name through the Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC) to see if their warrant in Conway was still valid.

After finding out it was, the confirmation process began. According to Officer Birmingham’s narrative, the suspect walked out of the stall saying he was just trying to survive and why do they keep bothering him.

Officer Birmingham advised him that he was told not to come back and that this time he was being arrested.

When Detective Webb went to put handcuffs on the suspect, they tried to move back, so he pinned them to the wall while Officer Birmingham placed handcuffs on them.

The Conway Police Department confirmed the warrant and the suspect was then transferred to the custody of the Conway Police Department.

Loitering at William H. Bowen School of Law

On Jan. 23, 2023 dispatch was advised about an individual loitering at the William H. Bowen School of Law.

Officer Jesse Ball arrived on the scene and was advised the individual was in the Bowen School of Law Library.

Once making contact with the individual, Officer Ball led them outside the library so they could talk.

The individual claimed at first to be doing research, although not a student at the law school.

When Officer Ball told the suspect they were seen in parts of the law school where research could not be done, the individual admitted they were washing up in the bathroom and that’s why they were in there for a long period of time.

After Officer Ball received identification from the suspect, dispatch advised they had a warrant in Searcy, AR, but were outside the limits on the warrant.

Officer Ball issued a verbal criminal trespass warning and escorted them off the Bowen School of Law campus.

Towed Vehicle at the Bailey Alumni Center

On Jan. 29, 2023 at 10:59 a.m. Officer Stacker towed a vehicle from the Bailey Alumni Center.

The vehicle had been left unattended since 3 a.m. with the emergency flashers activated and the driver-side window down. The owner of the vehicle was identified but with no valid insurance and inside the vehicle were various personal belongings.

Officer Stacker took photos of the vehicle and Asher Wrecker towed the vehicle.

Suspicious Activity at Gary Hogan Field

On Jan. 30, 2023, Officer Marilyn Thompson and Assistant Chief Benjamin were dispatched to the Gary Hogan baseball field about a person dancing, singing and yelling near the bleachers in the ball field.

Once Officer Thompson made contact with the individual she observed the suspect was, “delusional, spacey and on some kind of drugs.”

Officer Thompson and Assistant Chief Benjamin dispatched Metropolitan Emergency Medical Service (MEMS) to make sure the individual was okay.

MEMS confirmed the individual was okay. Officer Thompson and Assistant Chief Benjamin later made contact with the individual’s grandmother and mother who informed them the suspect was bipolar and on meth.

Upon their request, the individual was transported to a relative’s house.

If you see any suspicious or criminal activity, or simply feel uncomfortable, do not hesitate to call University Police. For emergencies dial 911 or 501-9163400 and for non-emergencies dial 501-916-5304. Stay safe everyone!.

BY RIAN NEWMAN

Commiserate with me a little about how far we have to walk to get around campus nowadays, will ya? I mean, what is the purpose of all this?

Well, one positive thing I can think of personally, is that we are required to take a lot more steps to get where we are going, right? That, my colleagues, is definitely some low-key extra exercise, but outside of that, what is really going on here?

Okay, well, let’s just call it what it is - The Trojan Way Project. This project started with these blasted fences going up around midOctober and will go on for about another 12 to 18 months.

Yes, you read me right. This isn’t going away anytime soon, but there will be a way to navigate through all this ruckus as construction fencing has been placed through the north-to-south promenade of the campus.

There are cut-throughs in the fencing that help ensure access to the campus and maps of the cut-throughs have been made available to us all. You can also read the signage on the fencing which is there to assist with directions.

If anyone is ever so inclined to, they can keep up with the latest updates about this project by frequenting this website address: https://ualr.edu/ facilities/construction/.

The good news about all of this transformation going on around here is that the University of Arkansas at Little Rock campus will be even more beautiful than it already is.

Have you ever walked the trail along-side the creek? It is absolutely beautiful and therapeutic and one of my favorite spots to frequent! You can even sit and study close by if you so choose to do so.

So now that I’ve written about what the fences are for, I will stop my complaining and commiserating about all the extra walking I have to do around campus, I will have an attitude of gratitude for all of the extra steps that I will be taking to burn calories and tone up and look forward to viewing the outcome of this endeavor in about a year or so.