Burglary, trespassing, and other on-campus crime reports
By Jamie Miller and Karalynn Davis
Editor’s note: Coverage of campus police reports has been delayed due to the Grand Rapids Community College Police Department now requiring The Collegiate to file a Freedom of Information Act request in order to obtain reports.
Man receives trespass warning
On Thursday, Nov. 13, at 12:09 p.m., an officer monitoring the gate arms of Parking Ramp A observed the man in a previous report. The subject entered Raleigh J. Finkelstein, where the officer made contact with him. When the subject turned around, the officer realized he was not the subject of a previous report. The officer asked the subject if he was a student; he stated that he was not. The officer told the subject, “GRCC isn’t a place to pee,” and advised him of public places to use the bathroom. Because the subject was not a student, he was given a trespassing warning.
Welfare check, public intoxication
On Monday, Nov. 17, at 7:17 p.m., three officers were dispatched to Calkins Science Center for a welfare check. The caller reported his girlfriend was missing. Upon going to the Science Center, the officers met up with the caller, who was visibly upset. The man could not find his girlfriend and was extremely concerned for her well-being. He dropped her off for class at around 6 p.m., and her class was supposed to end at 7:15 p.m. The man said he received FaceTime calls from his girlfriend at 6:36 p.m. and 6:44 p.m., from her tablet because she had left her phone in his car. The woman was in a bathroom, hunched over, not responding when he tried to communicate. The man was concerned because he said she struggles with a drinking addiction, so he was concerned she was intoxicated. The first FaceTime call disconnected, so she called again moments later, audio only. The man could not understand what she was saying before the call disconnected again.
One of the officers found the woman in the bathroom unresponsive. Due to her being slumped over, the officer pushed open the stall door. The officer couldn’t tell if she was breathing, so she attempted to check her pulse when the woman pulled her hand away. The officer tried to communicate with the woman again, which got no response or movement after she slumped back over. The officer tried to check her pulse again when the woman attempted to swat her with her hand.
She began mumbling nonsensical responses to the officer’s questions. After a second, she was able to answer some of the officer’s questions. She said she was alright but was having trouble hearing and breathing. She seemed very disoriented and had slurred speech. She wasn’t comprehending everything the officer said and wasn’t making sense.
The woman admitted to drinking alcohol prior to coming to class, but wouldn’t tell the officer what she drank. She ended up wanting to go home with her mom, who was waiting in her car outside. She stumbled to the vehicle and fell into the passenger seat of her mom’s car.
Larceny from Learning Resource Center build-site
On Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 8:44 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the Learning Resource Center building in reference to a larceny complaint. Upon arrival, the officer made contact with Project Manager Micah Frenz, who said that several electricians had their tools stolen. The officer met with the Parkway Electrician Foreman, who advised that three of his electricians had a total of 25 tools and other supplies stolen.
The estimated cost of these items combined was $4,115. The only person who was near the area was on Nov. 19 at approximately 3:15 a.m. The person was on a bike, wearing a white ski mask and carrying a bookbag. The cameras of the Learning Resource Center are off due to the renovation being completed on the building.
Student Financial Services threatened via message
On Friday, Nov. 21, at 12:16 p.m., an employee of Student Financial Services reported that someone had sent a threatening message to their office. The subject messaged Student Financial Services after a mass message communication about a refund that was sent by accident at approximately 10:26 a.m. At 10:40 a.m., another mass message was sent advising that the first message was sent in error.
In response to these messages, the subject messaged, “Gimme my cash dumbass,” and “Imma come busting into that office boi.” An officer attempted to contact the subject via T/X. The first call was answered with loud music playing. The officer called again and got the same results, but when the subject was informed that the caller was a police officer, the line went quiet. The officer attempted a third call, which was once again answered with loud music. The officer couldn’t leave a voicemail. The officer sent an email to the subject explaining that this behavior would not be tolerated.
Probation violation ends in arrest
On Friday, Nov. 21, at 1:50 p.m., an officer was en route to the Student Center to make contact with someone in reference to a prior “trouble with a person” report. The person who called the officer noted the subject was on probation for assault and had a no-contact order. Upon arrival, the officer determined the woman was in violation of her probation and arrested her.
At the Police Department, the woman was placed in an interview room and spoken to by Chief Whitman, who informed her she wasn’t permitted on campus until notified by the Code of Conduct office. The woman was transported to Kent County Correctional Facility. During transport, the subject was verbally inappropriate. When they got to KCCF, the woman refused to exit the vehicle but eventually complied. During booking, the woman refused to follow commands, and she was generally uncooperative. Deputies attempted to complete a pat-down, but the woman refused to take off her shoes and remained combative. Deputies prepared to move her to a side cell, and she became dead weight. The woman was carried to a cell, where she continued to act physically aggressive.
The officers waited for the woman’s probation paperwork, but without GRCCPD’s knowledge, Ottawa County Police Department contacted the jail directly to request a hold be placed on the woman, saying they’d send someone to pick the woman up to transport her to their facility.
Graffiti found on Cook Hall
On Dec. 3, at 10:20 a.m., graffiti located on an exterior wall of Cook Hall was reported by Nicholas Elgersma, Associate Director of Facilities Management. The graffiti was not wet, and there were no suspects in the location. Upon reviewing camera footage, the officer did not see a suspect. The graffiti said, “HAVE courage” in silver spray paint.
Graffiti found on retaining wall
On Dec. 3, at 10:21 a.m., more graffiti on GRCC property was reported by Elgersma, who stated there was graffiti on the “retaining wall” located on Crescent Street NE. Elgersma wanted to report the graffiti before the cleaning company came out and removed it. The graffiti was dry, and there was no way to tell how long or when the wall was vandalized, because there are no cameras near the location. The graffiti read, “REBELON NOW,” in green spray paint.
Baseball storage broken into
On Tuesday, Dec 31, at 10:40 a.m. An officer was dispatched to a Grand Rapids Community College baseball storage shed by Griff’s Icehouse on a report of a break-in. The officer arrived and drove around the rear of the ice arena to get to the storage area. Upon moving to a foot search, the officer noticed one set of shoe prints around the building and leading to the bifold doors. The officer then contacted the original caller, who had been contacted by an employee from the Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation Department after they found a door ajar and noticed damage, with the employee closing and temporarily securing the doors. Due to the snow on the ground, the incident likely occurred before Monday Dec 29, due to that day having gotten significant snowfall and there being no other impressions in the snow. The officer noticed damage to the hasp lock as well, with the staple having been ripped off of the door while still being connected to the hasp with the padlock still intact. Upon a cursory glance, it did not appear that anything had been rummaged through or taken. This was confirmed by a GRCC athletics employee who was unable to locate anything as missing, but he said that didn’t mean something wasn’t missing. The officer then waited for another GRCC employee to arrive to secure the hardware with the two brainstorming ways to better secure the doors. There are no suspects at this time.
Woman ordered to leave Parking Ramp B
On Monday, Jan 5 at 12:51 p.m., while on patrol in Parking Ramp B, an officer noticed loud music playing in the stairwell. Following the music, the officer came across a shopping cart in the stairwell surrounded by trash. The officer then unlocked a gate leading to the ramp’s elevator maintenance room, pausing to alert dispatch, who sent another officer. The officer continued past the gate, announcing himself, with a woman responding by telling him to go away. The officer continued up the stairs to the maintenance doors, noticing a makeshift tent made from blankets at the top of the stairs, which was surrounded by food, both fresh and expired. The officer would then make contact with a woman who at first refused to give her name until the officer notified her that she could be ticketed for the mess. The woman then gave the officer her name and birthdate while telling the officer she was a current student. The officer would inform her that she could not sleep there and would have to pick up her belongings. The GRCC program PeopleSoft would reveal that the woman was not and never had been a student, and dispatch informed the officer that the woman was given a trespass warning on Sept 15. The officer informed her of the previous warnings and gave her a misdemeanor citation ticket. This seemed to agitate the woman, who began shouting and aggressively picking up her belongings, which led to the two officers leaving to de-escalate the situation, though they informed her they would return to ensure that she had left. However, later that day at 4:37 p.m, another officer came across the woman sleeping under a blanket on level seven of the ramp. The officer observed multiple items hanging from the stairwell railing, a radio plugged into an outlet, a makeshift bed, and numerous bags of trash and expired food strewn about. The woman told the officer that she would clean up the area and asked that the officers leave, something which the officers refused to do. This caused the woman to become agitated and begin yelling at officers that she was a GRCC student, something which had already been proven false. The officers stood by and offered her resources, including Degage Ministries and a mental evaluation at the hospital, but the woman refused, instead continuing to shout and make demands. The officers assisted her in getting her cart into the elevator, and she was last seen walking northbound on Division Avenue.
Man arrested on a warrant
On Tuesday, Jan 6, an officer was walking into the Grand Rapids Police Department building when a GRCC staff member and another man flagged the officer down. The other man told the officer that he was being followed, though he clarified that this was happening at home, telling the officer that someone had stolen his identity and was taking over his phone, with him wanting to file a report. However, the officer noticed the screen was wet, and upon wiping it off, the phone stopped behaving strangely. The officer asked for the man’s name and date of birth in order to get a report started. The officer ran the man’s name through the Law Enforcement Information Network, with it coming back that the man had warrants out for his arrest. As a result, the man was arrested and was found to have seven cards on his person, none of which belonged to him. The man was brought to the Kent County Correctional Facility, and after briefly being brought to Corewell Health Butterworth Hospital for chest pains, he was medically cleared and lodged at KCCF.
Trespasser taken away on a stretcher
On Wednesday, Jan 7, at 1:04 p.m., two officers on patrol noticed an individual sleeping in the corner of the Raleigh J Finkelstein first-floor lounge, with said man having no socks or shoes on. One of the officers was able to wake the man by knocking on the wall and asked him if he needed medical assistance. The man did not respond to this and wouldn’t give any form of identification, However, he would give the officer a name, though the medical bracelet on his arm had a different name on it. Neither name had any warrants. The man went on to tell the officers that he was a student, though GRCC records would contradict this. He also told officers, when told to leave, that his legs were hurting, his feet were tingling, and he had suffered a seizure. The officers, not noticing any seizure activity, asked him when his last seizure was, and the man responded that it had been going on for the last three years, but he didn’t remember when the last time was due to him falling asleep afterward. The man also complained of head pain and asked to be brought to the hospital via ambulance. AMR later arrived and recognized the man from a previous call. The man complained of chest pains and having a tight chest as he was put on the stretcher with one of the officers giving him a verbal trespass warning before he was driven to Saint Mary’s Hospital.
Man arrested for suspected drug possession at RJF Hall
On Thursday, Jan 8 at 8:25 p.m., an officer was securing the southwest stairwell of RJF Hall when she noticed the door to Winchester Place wouldn’t open. She observed two people sitting on the ground leaning against the door, partially concealed by a trash can. The officer radioed for backup as the two got up and started to walk away, with the officer relaying this to the responding units. Officers intercepted the two in the alley near the GRCC South Commons. The officers told the two that the campus was closed and asked them if they were students, and the two said that they weren’t. The two had different explanations of why they were there. The female said they were waiting for her mother to pick her up, and that her mother was driving from Lansing, though she couldn’t give a time when her mother would arrive, nor could she give her mother’s phone number or any additional details for officers to confirm her story but told the officers her mother knew the area and believed the alley was a suitable meeting location. The male told a different story, saying the two met up and just walked around with no clear plans. When asked about the door, the female said that the two had been leaning against the door, and she had her leg extended, which stopped the door from opening. The man had an open bottle of liquor, while the female possessed an unopened beer. The officer asked the two for identification, and the female went to reach for hers, only for the officer to ask for and gain permission to do it instead, with the officer locating no contraband on her. A file check of the female came back clean as well, and she was let go with a warning, though she chose to wait for the male and was allowed to wait in another officer’s squad car to avoid the heavy rain before she left walking southbound after her beer was returned to her. The male stated he had no identification, though officers were able to identify him via the Talon database. An officer then conducted a consented search located what appeared to be a crack rock in the right front pocket of his jeans as well as a particle box of Crown’s cigarettes, which contained what appeared to be a crack pipe. The man claimed the jeans didn’t belong to him and that they had been given to him by someone else at the Quality Inn. The suspected narcotic was tested twice and came back both times as testing positive for cocaine. It also came back that he had a warrant out for him by the Hastings Police Department and so the officers placed him under arrest and transported him to KCCF.
