Man leaves Subway without paying for order, employee chases down suspect
On Jan. 23 at approximately 11:53 a.m., Grand Rapids Community College Police were dispatched to Winchester Alley on Level G2 of Raleigh J. Finkelstein Hall to respond to a reported physical altercation with some individuals who failed to pay at the Subway restaurant.
GRCC Police responded to the scene and made contact with a Subway employee. The employee was in the east hallway on the floor and was visibly upset when police made contact with her. She told police a man wearing a black coat, white sweatshirt, black pants and a beanie cap failed to pay for food he was served at Subway. She said he was with a woman who had also left the area.
The employee said she chased the man and caught up to him on the south end of the hallway of the building. GRCC Police walked to that area of the building and five other people were standing there who had all witnessed the employee make contact with the suspect and appeared to be wrestling with him. GRCC Police asked all the witnesses to complete written statements.
The employee told police the man and woman came to the counter and ordered two turkey-bacon-avocado foot-long subs, two bags of chips, and two drinks totaling approximately $25. Then the man walked away with the food without paying while the employee turned around to grab something. She said the woman acted surprised and told her she didn’t know what to do. At this point, the employee took off and chased after the man.
The employee said she made contact with him at the south end of the hallway close to the exit of the building. GRCC Police asked her how she ended up on the ground with him. She said she couldn’t remember exactly but thought she probably put her hands up and stood in between him and the door to stop him from exiting the building.
When she put her hands up she may have touched him and he grabbed her and they ended up on the ground. GRCC Police asked her if he hit her at any point and she said he did not. She said the other witnesses who arrived on scene separated them and he left the area out of the south entrance of the building. She said before leaving the building, the man ate half a bag of chips and drank some of the bottle of Sprite. He left the rest of the food on the ground. The employee told police she was not injured during the altercation.
GRCC Police told the employee that if this were to happen again she should just call them and get a good description instead of trying to stop someone. GRCC Police explained to her this would be best for her safety and that it wouldn’t be worth getting hurt over a couple of subs.
GRCC Police told the employee they would check the video cameras in the area and would contact her if they were able to locate the suspect.
After reviewing the surveillance footage of the area, GRCC Police were able to locate some video of the suspects. Still-shots were taken.
Woman surprised to find stranger attempting to charge phone in her car parked in Ramp B
On Jan. 24, at approximately 12:17 p.m., GRCC Police were dispatched to Ramp B in reference to a suspicious person complaint. Dispatch advised the victim had called and said a suspicious woman had been in her vehicle. Dispatch said the suspect was a white woman, with blue hair, wearing black pants and a green jacket. Dispatch said the suspect had left the ramp and walked down the northwest stairwell in the ramp. GRCC Police then responded to the area.
While en route to make contact with the victim, an officer advised he made contact with the female suspect near the patrol vehicles parked at the department and detained her.
In Ramp B, Level 7, GRCC Police made contact with the victim and interviewed her. She stated that she had parked her vehicle at approximately 9:45 a.m. in Ramp B, Level 7, but was not sure if she locked it. She stated that at approximately 12:05 p.m., she went to her vehicle and the suspect was near the passenger side of her vehicle. The victim states the suspect walked right up to her and apologized.
The victim stated that the suspect then asked her if the car belonged to her and asked her for a ride. She told the suspect she needed to get to work and the suspect stated, “I need a ride to hell because Daniel had left.” The suspect then told the victim that she had the same car. The suspect walked over to the passenger side and driver’s side of her vehicle, opened the passenger door and reached into her vehicle. The suspect took some of her belongings from inside her vehicle. She noticed the suspect’s phone attached to her charger in her vehicle. She grabbed the phone to remove it from the charger and the suspect told her to be careful. The suspect told the victim the cord was a snake.
The victim said she removed the phone from the charger and gave the suspect the phone. The suspect thanked the victim for being her and walked away. The victim stated the suspect walked towards the northwest stairwell and walked down the stairwell. The victim then said she called GRCC Police to report the incident.
She did not know the suspect or gave her permission to be in her vehicle. She was not missing anything from her vehicle. She did not want to press charges against the suspect for breaking into her vehicle. GRCC Police advised the victim that if they had any further questions they would be in contact with her.
GRCC Police decided that the suspect should be taken to be evaluated due to her mental state. The suspect was transported to Network 180. Upon arrival, the suspect’s handcuffs were removed. The suspect was then turned over to Network 180 staff to get evaluated.
Second report of suspect found in parked car, speaker reported missing
On Jan. 24, the same day as the report above, at 12:17 p.m., GRCC Police were dispatched to the Lyon Street parking ramp on GRCC’s campus. A caller reported she found a woman in her vehicle that was parked on that ramp. Dispatch said the woman had blue hair and was last seen walking down one of the stairwells in the ramp.
GRCC Police left the office to respond to the ramp and discovered the suspect standing just outside the police department office on the second level of the parking ramp.
They immediately asked the suspect what was going on. She looked confused and said she needed help. She was making random comments that did not make sense. GRCC Police asked for her name and she gave her name to the officer. The officer asked if she was a GRCC student and she said she was not as she had not been able to sign up yet.
The officer asked her if she was on any medications and she said she saw a doctor today. The officer asked her where and she said she was at Spectrum Health. The officer asked her why she was there and she said for psychosis but she didn’t have psychosis. She said her doctor is actually at Cherry Health but she has not been able to get there. The officer asked her if there was anyone they could call to help her. It appeared at this time that the suspect was either having a mental episode or had potentially taken some drugs.
The officer asked her if she would mind walking into the police department and she agreed. The officer walked her to an interview room where they could sit down and possibly make contact with someone to help her. The suspect had a small purse with her and the officer asked her if she had any weapons in the purse. She said she did not and the officer asked if they could look through it to make sure. She agreed and told the officer that they could look in her purse. According to police, the woman is thought to have a mental health issue and was provided proper care.
On Jan. 25, GRCC Police was contacted by the victim by email. She advised in the email that she was missing a “blue” JBL speaker from her vehicle. The victim advised she wished to press charges against the suspect also. The officer made contact with the victim by telephone asked her to come the GRCC Police Department.
On Jan 29, at approximately 12:10 p.m., the victim came to the GRCC Police Department to speak with the officer. She told police that a JBL 4 BlueTooth speaker had been stolen from her purse which was in her vehicle when the suspect was in there. The officer asked her if she was sure that the speaker was in her purse and she stated she was not sure. The officer asked the victim if she may have misplaced the speaker by accident. The victim stated the speaker was in her purse and someone else besides the suspect may have entered her vehicle and taken the speaker.
The officer explained the mental status of the suspect to the victim and told the victim that the suspect was being treated for a mental illness. After a brief discussion, the victim then stated she did not wish to file charges against the suspect for larceny.
Suspicious individual harasses GRCC student, attempts robbery.
On Jan. 24 at approximately 2:53 p.m., GRCC Police were dispatched to a suspicious situation that occurred on the 200 block of Bostwick Avenue. Dispatch advised a student, was walking from Calkins Science Center towards Ramp A when she noticed a person walking towards her. The suspect approached and reached for her pocket. The victim screamed and he immediately walked away heading northbound on the sidewalk. She described him as a man wearing a beanie hat with a hood up, brown/maroon pants, an orange backpack and carrying a pair of shoes.
The officer checked the area on Bostwick Ave, Crescent Street, and Ransom Ave around Calkins and was unable to locate him. The officer did a walkthrough of the Calkins and was able to locate him on the third floor. The officer asked if he was a GRCC student and the man said he was. The officer asked him for his RaiderCard and he showed the officer his Michigan identification card. He was unable to produce a RaiderCard or give the officera student ID number. The officer had Dispatch run a Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN) check which originally came back with a warrant out of Berrien County.
It was soon determined that the warrant was for a different person. The suspect continued to insist he was a GRCC student but could not tell the officer what classes he was taking or the last time he attended a class. The officer had Dispatch check PeopleSoft and the officer was informed he last took classes in 2016. The officer told the suspect he could not be on campus unless he was in the Enrollment Center registering for classes. He insisted this was a community college and he was part of the community so he could tour the buildings if he chose to.
The officer made it clear that was not the case and if he returned to campus without registering for classes he would be subject to arrest for trespassing. The man left the building heading south down the Bostwick Commons. GRCC Police were watching to make sure he left campus and saw him enter the tower doors between RJF Hall and Peter and Pat Cook Academic Hall.
The officers entered the building and saw him in the Enrollment Center. The officer made contact with a front desk employee and informed them that they just had an incident with him and that if there were any issues they would be close by and they should call dispatch immediately.
While back at the Police Department writing the report, the officer saw the suspect walk toward dispatch. The officer went up front and the man told him that the Enrollment Center staff told him he could be on campus. He said he could be anywhere in that building (pointing across Lyon Street) and that he would be back tomorrow. The officer told him most of the building was restricted unless he was registering for classes and the man proceeded to ask a police supervisor to file a complaint against the officer who told him he couldn’t be on campus..
The officer reached out to someone from dispatch and they reached out to the Enrollment Center for clarity on their conversation and met the suspect in the dispatch lobby. The suspect was unhappy being told again that he could not be anywhere on campus besides the Enrollment Center unless he was registered for classes. He continued to claim he was registered for classes but the student ID he provided showed that he was not.
GRCC Police walked to the Enrollment Center to get clarification and was told that the man took a placement test, the first step for registering for classes, but is not yet registered. It was reiterated to him that he is not to be anywhere on campus except the Enrollment Center until he is actually registered for classes. The suspect then left campus walking westbound on Lyon Street.
Hit and run in Ramp A
On Jan. 25, at 1:13 p.m., GRCC Police were dispatched to a hit-and-run complaint. The complainant told the officer that on Jan. 24, she parked on Level 6 of Ramp A at approximately 8:50 a.m. and returned to her vehicle at 3:13 p.m. At that time, she said she did not notice that her vehicle was damaged. Upon arriving home, she noticed that there was damage to the front driver’s door and quarter panel. The damage consisted of some small scratches and dents.
Sleeping Trespasser found in lower parking level of the College Park Plaza
On Jan. 29, at approximately 7:57 a.m., GRCC Police were dispatched to the lower level of College Park Plaza to check out a report of a man sleeping. The officer made contact with the man near the northwest entrance doors to the building while he was packing up his belongings. He was identified by his Michigan ID license and advised that he could not be sleeping on campus. An officer explained that it would be considered trespassing if he was caught on campus again.
A file check was run on the man which showed a warrant for his arrest out of the state of Pennsylvania. The warrant was out of pick-up range. The suspect then left the area without incident.
