By Blace Carpenter
Unauthorized man caught in GRCC veterans center
On Jan. 5, at 4:31 p.m., Grand Rapids Community College Police were dispatched to the Student Center to find an unauthorized male that was inside the RJF Veterans Lounge and was possibly taking some food earlier that day.
When Officer Mario Jimenez arrived at the Student Center, he located the man and attempted to speak to him, but he was agitated and irate. Officers Michelle Tett and Timothy Nelson arrived and managed to calm the suspect down.
The man explained he was hoping to enroll in classes for the semester so the officers escorted him to the Enrollment Center. Jimenez spoke with the staff and told them if the man returned, to call the police department for extra security.
Police ran the suspect through the Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN) and discovered he had two bail warrants from the University Of Michigan Department of Public Safety. The first was for failure to appear at a court hearing, and the second warrant was a misdemeanor for damage to private property.
He was also run through The Threat and Local Observation Notice (TALON) program, which unveiled six prior incidents with the GRCC Police Department, with his last known contact being an incident in 2017.
GRCC Police Department finds a stolen golf cart
On Jan 6., at 6:11 a.m. Officer Ryan Ford was dispatched to the south end of Juan Olivarez Plaza for what appeared to be a stolen golf cart.
Ford and Officer Kam Robles found the cart plugged into a charging table with “Buist Electric” stickers on the side of it. They found clothing in the back, along with a purse containing belongings to an unidentified person.
Robles and Ford pushed the cart to the G1 parking ramp where it was secured in the Police Department garage.
A short time after, two employees from Buist Electric came in and confirmed that they were missing a cart from a job site near the intersection of Lyon Street and Ramson Avenue, where they were working on a parking ramp for CorewellHealth. One of the employees told the officers that he left the cart charging at 3:30 p.m the previous day and had a key to drive it off campus and return it to their job site.
Ford asked if there was interest in pressing charges on the subject, but they declined and said they were relieved to have the cart back.
Police respond to man sleeping in GRCC bathroom stall for two hours
On Jan. 6, at 5:46 p.m., Officers Zack Penniman and Timothy Nelson were dispatched to RJF Hall on a report that a man was sleeping in the G2 bathroom.
Penniman and Nelson met with the GRCC custodian, who called about the incident. He said that someone was in the bathroom stall for around two hours. The officers then proceed to make contact with the subject.
They asked the man if he was a GRCC student, and he said he was not. Penniman then told the suspect that unless he was taking classes or registering for classes, he would not be allowed on campus. The man stated that he understood and left GRCC.
Student files harassment charges after being followed from the Van Andel Arena
On Jan. 6, at approximately 4:30 p.m., Officer Mario Jimenez went to the Student Center to talk with a student after he informed dispatch that he was followed by two unknown males.
The student wanted to file a report on the two males after being harassed by them the previous day. The man had already filed a report with the Grand Rapids Police Department on Jan. 5, and wanted a follow-up on it. He believed that they were not investigating the incident.
Jimenez told the student he would have to talk with the GRPD and request an incident for his report to confirm that it was taken and to follow up with the officers. The student understood and walked to the GRPD station.
Man is arrested for stealing $680 in merchandise.
On Jan. 7, at 2:18 p.m., GRCC Police were dispatched to the GRCC Bookstore to investigate a report that a man had left the store after stealing some headphones.
Officers Tony Myers and Michelle Tett went to talk to the bookstore manager who witnessed the incident. She reported that he had placed several items into his pockets before leaving the store and was seen walking southbound on the Bostwick Commons into the GRCC Parking Ramp.
Myers and Tett confronted the man, asking if he was in the bookstore and if he had taken anything. While he agreed he had just left the bookstore, he denied stealing any headphones. Myers then asked if he had anything in his pockets, and the male revealed that he had stolen a pair of headphones.
He was put into handcuffs, and his keys were taken into custody by Tett. Where she found the man’s vehicle and discovered three boxes of “Beat Fit Pro” wireless headphones and a box that contained a “JBL” speaker fitting the descriptions of the report. All of the merchandise totaled around $680.
An Intrusion Alarm was set off at the Applied Technology Center.
On Jan. 8, at 10:36 a.m., the GRCC Police Department was contacted by the Engineered Procession Services (EPS) that there was a power outage at the ATC. Officer Zach Penniman contacted Nicholas Elgersma, GRCC Associate Director of Facilities Management, and notified him of the outage. Elgersma then contacted a GRCC electrician.
When Penniman arrived at the ATC, he noticed there was a truck parked in the loading area on the south side of the building. He then entered the building and noticed a man working on a laptop in the hallway. Penniman introduced himself to the man, stating he was with the GRCC Police Department. The man replied that he worked for Elgersma and was there to check out the power outage.
While working on his laptop, the man received a call from Jamie Taylor, a GRCC electrician. Taylor said he was on his way to the ATC to check on the power issue as well. When Taylor arrived, he checked the system and said it was probably just a blip.
After Taylor and Elgersma cleared the system, Penniman searched the building to make sure no one was in the ATC. He reset the alarm and left the building.
A $500 “Big Red” CPR Manikin is stolen from GRCC.
On Jan. 11, at 12:17 p.m., Officer Ryan Ford was dispatched to a larceny report at the front desk of the GRCC Police Department. Ford talked with the complainant and brought her to an interview room to discuss the report.
She stated she was missing a specialized CPR manikin that lights up when you give it compressions. She kept four of the manikins stored in a closet in the Science Building, and a coworker of hers reported the missing manikin on Monday, Jan 9. She reached out to everyone who uses the manikins to see if anyone had taken one. Everyone responded to her, confirming that none of them knew where the missing manikin was.
The last time all four manikins were accounted for was in mid-December when they were used for evaluations.
GRCC Student breaks an exit gate after car gets stuck underneath
On Jan. 12, at 12:12 p.m., Officer Kam robles was dispatched to a report that a student had damaged an exit gate at 11:17 a.m. on the fifth floor of the GRCC Ramp A.
Robles contacted Sue Ross, the Parking Services Manager at Ellis Parking, where she had footage of the incident. The student had approached the exit, paid for the exit, and moved to leave the ramp but was forced to wait behind another vehicle. While waiting, the gate arm had closed on his vehicle. The student exited his vehicle and pushed the arm of his roof so he could leave the ramp.
According to the police report, Ross wanted the student to be held responsible for the repairs but explained that the gate shouldn’t have closed on his vehicle while he was still underneath it. The student eventually paid for the repair, and no damage was reported to his vehicle.
