Suspicious activity and person reported at the Library & Learning Commons
At 2:40 p.m. on Oct. 10, a Grand Rapids Community College Police Department officer interviewed a GRCC employee who had a report about a suspicious person on campus. The female employee works at the Library & Learning Commons at GRCC. She reported that over a span of two years she has been receiving multiple phone calls on her office phone from someone she believes is a former GRCC student.
The former student has called to ask about the library services and about the college and has asked the employee for her personal cell phone number, referencing that she is not always at her desk to answer her work phone. The employee has noticed the former student will oftentimes sit in the library and stare at her while she works or stare at other people in the library though he has not done anything to anyone in the last two years.
The man was described as a 30-year-old black male with an afro hairstyle and stocky build who stutters at times. A search in the Law Enforcement Information Network showed showed a clear record under the name given of the former student. GRCCPD also checked for a Library & Learning Commons permit, which is open to the public, but did not find this particular student had purchased one to use the facility. A student search also showed the man in question has not been a student since Fall 2014. The employee reported she believes he may be on academic probation since he asked once for help on drafting a letter to Academic Probation.
The employee additionally reported a recent runin with the former student. Around 11 a.m. on Oct. 9, the employee was leaving the library to her car when she noticed the former student standing in the lobby. Because she felt uneasy about walking to her car, she walked back into her office and waited for a few more minutes before leaving again. When she left her office a few minutes later, the man walked outside behind her. She walked across the walking ramp connecting the Bostwick Parking Ramp and the Library & Learning Commons and noticed the man continued to follow her. The employee hid behind a car to get out of the man’s field of vision and proceeded to her car. After her return to campus at 3 p.m., she noticed the man was standing near the library doors and there were numerous missed calls from an unknown phone number on her office phone.
A search on the surveillance cameras of that day did not show the man matching the description given follow the employee.
At 10 a.m. on Oct. 11, a GRCCPD officer contacted the phone number on the employee’s phone to inquire about the nature of the calls. The first time the officer called, a man answered but hung up immediately after the officer asked for the former student by name. The officer called again and asked for the same. This time, the man answered he was the person the officer was calling for. The officer asked if he was on campus the previous day or the one before that. The man answered that he was not and hung up the phone a second time. Upon the third call to the same number, the phone went directly to voicemail. The officer left a message for the former student advising that he was not to return to campus or he would be arrested for trespassing and left his contact information. The officer then contacted the employee and advised her to contact the GRCCPD if any other odd occurrences like this happened again.
Minor accident on campus
At 2:24 p.m. on Oct. 11, two GRCCPD officers were dispatched to the 200 block of Bostwick Avenue due to a minor accident between two vehicles. Upon arrival, the officers noticed one car, a 2016 Kia Soul, was parked in a loading zone and a 2005 Ford Explorer behind it. The Kia’s rear bumper sustained two minor scratches while no scratches were seen on the Ford.
One of the officers completed a private property self report form and provided it to the owner of the Kia. A search in LEIN did not show any outstanding warrants for the driver, so the officers let the driver of the Kia go.
A LEIN search of the driver of the Ford, a male GRCC student, showed he had a suspended license since April 4, 2018 for an indefinite amount of time though the vehicle was properly registered and insured.
A misdemeanor citation was issued to the owner of the Ford. He was arrested and immediately released. The driver was advised to appear in court within 10 days.
Two vehicles were broken into at the Bostwick Parking Ramp
At approximately 4:26 p.m. on Oct. 11, a GRCC student arrived at campus police headquarters to file a larceny complaint. The student reported someone broke into his vehicle while it was parked at the Bostwick Parking Ramp between 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. When he returned to his vehicle he saw the glove box was open and papers were scattered all through front passenger seat. A more thorough check of the vehicle showed the student was missing two Dewalt bags containing drills, batteries and drill bit cases, an Under Armour duffle bag, Adidas running shoes, a leather weightlifting belt and weightlifting wrist straps and a Marine folding knife.
The student did not have serial or model numbers for any of his missing property. As a result, the local pawn shops were checked but a search on the website was not able to be completed due to technical issues. The student requested to file charges should the person who stole his items be caught.
In total, approximately $850 worth of items were stolen from the vehicle. In Michigan, stolen property valued at $200 or more but less than $1,000 is classified as a larceny.
Nearly 20 minutes later, at 4:43 p.m., another GRCC student reported to GRCCPD at campus police headquarters someone had broken into his car and stole his backpack which contained a laptop charger, two textbooks, two three-ring binders and soccer cleats. The items were valued at $250.
The student reported he parked his vehicle on level 5 of the Bostwick Parking Ramp around 8 a.m. and returned around 1 p.m. to find his items were missing from his car. He also saw a GRCCPD officer speaking to another student on level 5 of the ramp and assumed someone broke into the other student’s vehicle as well.
The GRCCPD officer dispatched to this larceny report checked the GRCC Bookstore for any sold-back books matching the ones in the student’s allegedly stolen backpack but found no matching books.
Found purse leads to the owner’s arrest at campus police headquarters
At approximately 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 12, a GRCC student entered campus police headquarters regarding her lost and found purse. In speaking to the student, the GRCCPD officer dispatched to her case saw there was a warrant for her arrest from the Grand Rapids Police Department due to a misdemeanor creating a disturbance charge dated Sept. 17. The bond for the arrest was set at $100. GRCCPD officers gave the student a chance to post bond, but the student did not have enough in her bank account. She called her sister who was able to post bond and received a court date to appear at the 61st District Court in Grand Rapids on Oct. 26 at 10 a.m.
