BYU Police Beat For Winter Semester

Suspicious Activity

Feb. 16 – A suspicious man was reported watching an aerobics class. When officers arrived, the man said his fiancée was the teacher. She confirmed his statement.

Feb. 21 – A suspicious car was reported outside the Ellsworth Building. The two people in the car were reading the scriptures.

Feb. 24 – A call reported a female student standing on the bridge over East Campus Drive. The caller was worried she would throw something at cars passing. When a police officer found her, the student said she was taking a break from studying and looking at the stars.

Feb. 29 – A girl taking pictures of a man in his underwear between the HFAC and the MOA was reported. Police arrived and could not locate the individuals.

March 16 – A male was found sleeping on the third floor of the JKB at 5 a.m. He said he had fallen asleep the evening before and had not meant to sleep all night. The man was informed of the building rules on remaining in a building after hours.

Criminal Mischief

Feb. 24 – Graffiti was found on the control box at the outdoor track by Helaman Hall. It said, “My heart is over at your service. Shakespeare.”

March 27 – A number of egg attacks were reported on campus between 6 and 7 a.m. A woman walking was struck in the leg with an egg. A group of military cadets also reported being egged. Legends Grille had eggs thrown at its exterior. The individuals who threw the eggs were reported to be driving a silver vehicle. The drivers were located and charges are currently pending.
Theft

Jan. 5 – Somewhere between 1970-1985, a piece of art valued at $218,000 was stolen from BYU campus. After being stolen, the “Silver Chalice” was sold between a number of different art dealers before finally landing in Switzerland with Count Thyssen-Bornemisz’s collection. BYU negotiated with Thyssen-Bornemisz’s estate and the piece of art was returned to BYU.

Feb. 24 – BYU Bookstore security caught a student stealing two textbooks. During the police investigation, it was found he had stolen books from the store before. Police officers accompanied him to his residence and recovered three more textbooks. The total value was about $660. He was cited for a class B misdemeanor for retail theft.

March 23 – A teaching assistant at the Talmage Building reported the Oreo cookies on her office desk were missing. She told the officer the door is always locked except for janitors. There were four cookies, worth 50 cents.

Drugs

Feb. 28 – A smell of marijuana was reported in May Hall. The officers brought a K-9 unit with them, who located which room the smell was coming from. The residents were not home when police arrived, but, after being called by police, they returned home. The residents would not allow officers to enter the room. Police got a search warrant approved and entered. They found marijuana residue, drug paraphernalia and tobacco in the room. The situation is currently under investigation.

March 8 – A Provo police officer found five BYU students smoking marijuana in a van parked by a local business around 4 a.m. During investigation, the officer found out these students had connections to the drug bust in May Hall. They were cited for drug possession.

Complaint

Feb. 8 – A complaint was received from the JFSB about mysterious flyers posted on some professors’ office doors. One flyer’s message was, “Cosmo likes this,” with a thumbs-up sign. The other one said, “Cosmo doesn’t like this” with a thumbs-down sign.

Verbal Altercation

Feb. 8 – Two male individuals were reported having a verbal altercation in the Smith Fieldhouse. One of them was a student, the other was not. They were arguing about a girl they both knew and dated.

Animal problem

Jan. 14 — Three student custodians at the Testing Center reported seeing two wolves running toward the Former Presidents’ Home.  After thoroughly surveying the area with spotlights, officers could not confirm the presence of wolves on campus.  The officers returned to ask the custodians if they were sure the animals were wolves, to which one custodian responded, “For sure, they were really big.” One of the students then said he wanted to wait for the wolves so he could scare them away.  The officers suggested they get back to work.

Feb. 21 – A live hamster was reported in the Cannon Center. Officers responded and were unable to locate the hamster. The call is believed to have been a prank.

Missing

Jan. 31 – Some children in Wymount Terrace called the police, saying they did not have any parents at home. Police arrived and found a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old home alone. After many attempts, the mom was contacted. She said she was on her way home and would never leave her children home alone again

Feb. 12 – A husband resident of Wymount Terrace reported a missing wife. He told the officer his wife had not come back from grocery shopping. During the interview, the wife walked into the room.