Theft

Jan. 6: An individual took a bag of chips from the Subway sandwich shop located in the WSC Cougareat. University police apprehended the individual, who turned out to have repeated past offences. The individual received a 72-hour ban from campus.

Jan. 4: A small HP brand compact laptop was reported stolen over Christmas break from the Harold B. Lee library. The laptop was valued at over $1,100.

Welfare

Jan. 5: Police received a call in response to reports of a dog being locked in an automobile in the BYU law school parking lot. Police investigated and it was found that the dog was in no danger.

Fire

Jan. 2: A female BYU student attempted to use the apartment oven to heat her dorm room in Bewen Hall, of Heritage Halls. The overworked heating element of the oven exploded, resulting in a minor fire. The fire was contained within the oven and was put out with a fire extinguisher, resulting in no damage outside of the oven.

Vehicle Burglary

Jan. 6: A car was reported broken into around 2 a.m. in Wyview Park. A passer-by walking through lot saw broken glass surrounding the car and called police. Missing was Racquetball equipment valuing $50 and misc. tools valuing $100.

Explosives

Jan. 5: A dry ice bomb was reported sighted between the Wyview laundry mat and creamery. Police arrived on the scene and used an air gun to safely dispose of the bomb. A dry ice bomb consists of a plastic 2L bottle filled with dry ice and water. The gas expands within the bottle causing it to explode resulting in an extremely loud noise and plastic shrapnel. Such bombs are extremely dangerous due to their unpredictable nature of detonation and should not be played with.

Trespassing

Jan. 5: Several people were attempting to create a luge or snowboard slide by packing snow onto the stairwell by Maeser Hill. The people were not BYU students and upon approach of a BYU officer proceeded to clean it up.

Jan. 9: Individuals who wouldn't leave the premises of a DT building after hours had been given a warning from a security guard, which they ignored. Upon arrival of University police the individuals dispersed.

Nuisance

Jan. 7: Individuals from Heritage Halls called police midnight of in response to repeated horn honking. The offending car and individuals involved were gone on arrival of University police.

Weapon Offense

Jan. 1: A small group of people was observed running around Wymount Terrace armed with six handguns and two Uzi look-alikes. It was ascertained to be a father and his three sons playing with Airsoft BB guns. They were very cooperative and apologetic upon being approached by the officer and ceased their activity.

Police Tip of the Week:

Real and Imitation weapons are not allowed on BYU campus and must be checked into the main office of your apartment complex. Look-alike brands of guns such as the Airsoft line maintain the same look, feel, and weight as real weapons and often are distinguished from the real thing only through particular markings regulated by federal law. Such markings include orange tips as are found on the Airsoft brand. Markings alone though make it very difficult for a police officer to differentiate between a toy and the real thing in the dark and people have been shot and killed because of such mistakes.

Police Beat compiled by Chris Williams

Copyright Brigham Young University 11 Jan 2007