An officer with the Winthrop University Police Department responded to the West Center on Feb. 10, “in reference to Vandalism inside the Polly Ford Conference Kitchen area.” The report states that the officer met with two Winthrop-affiliated people, one of whom “advised that he had been notified of the coffee covering the counter and the floor” the day before. He told WUPD that he “was not aware of the fire extinguisher material that had been discharged in the room” until that morning. The officer “observed a large amount of coffee grounds in the top of the coffee maker.” The officer also observed coffee grounds on the counter and the floor. Furthermore, the officer observed that the material from the inside of a fire extinguisher had been discharged through the crack of the door that leads into the conference room. The officer noted that a “large amount” of the material “still clung to the inner side of the Conference room door.” WUPD then met with an instructor whose office in the West Center had been reportedly damaged and burglarized. The instructor said that items in the office had been “tossed” onto the floor and that “someone also broke the glass in a picture frame hanging on his wall.” Furthermore, the instructor “indicated that there was a penis drawn on his white dry erase board.” The officer “then was advised that several whiteboards in the areas had been vandalized at the same time with various racial slurs and cuss words.” The officer was further advised by the aforementioned instructor that there was damage in the form of what appeared to be marks made by a blade to the area above the doorway of another room. A professor told WUPD that on Feb. 8, he was working in his office when he “heard at least 2 or 3 female voices just outside his office laughing.” The professor said that “he assumed the student staff was just horseplaying around, while locking down the building” although he said that he did not see the females in question. Upon further investigation of the incident by a high-ranking member of WUPD, the three females were discovered to have entered the West Center after closing but it was “shown that the [three] females did not commit any of the vandalism or damage to property.” The three females were referred to the Dean of Students office “for other violations of the Student Code of Conduct.” Further viewing of security footage showed two males who had entered and left campus on foot although they did not enter any buildings. Due to a lack of leads in the case, it has been administratively closed “pending any further developments.”
A WUPD officer responded to West Thomson Hall on Feb. 19 “in reference to the smell of marijuana” coming from a residential room. Upon arrival to the room on the fourth floor, the officer “could smell the odor or marijuana coming from the room and perfume in which the occupants sprayed to try and mask the marijuana smell.” The officer spoke with the residents of the room and one denied that anyone had been smoking. The officer asked them “to be honest because it could go a whole lot better for them.” One of the students admitted that they had smoked marijuana but that “there was no more in the room.” The officer asked the students to step into the hallway and began a search of the room. A sergeant with WUPD arrived and assisted with the search. While looking through the room, WUPD found two bottles of wine and a “full bottle of liquor” but did not locate any marijuana. The alcohol was “discarded in the bathroom sink” and the bottles were disposed of. The officer informed that students “that underage drinking and smoking marijuana in the residence hall will not be tolerated.” The students were not arrested and were referred to the Dean of Students office.
On Feb. 20, a WUPD officer responded to Richardson Hall in regards to “a student who had been seen and reported by other students for smoking a ceramic bong.” The student was asked by WUPD about the reports of “him being seen in the bathroom with a ceramic bong he claimed that he was not aware of anyone having a bong in the bathroom.” The student consented to a search of the room but denied the officer access to a lockbox in the room. The responding officer noticed a “strong” odor of marijuana near the desk. The officer opened the desk and found “a pack of marijuana rolling papers, and a pack of marijuana cigarette filters.” The officer subsequently noticed “the top of a 2 liter bottle tapped [sic] to a clear plastic bag, resembling a homemade bong” which was “producing a strong odor of marijuana.” Another officer and sergeant with WUPD arrived to the room and the sergeant began searching the room. When he got to the lockbox, the student “jumped up” and told the sergeant he could not look in the lockbox. The sergeant told the student that if he did not let him into it then he would “return with a search warrant and search it regardless.” The student then consented to the search of the lockbox. Inside the box, the sergeant discovered “1 small brushed metal marijuana grinder, 1 colorful marijuana grinder, 1 blue and purple smoke pipe, a red BIC lighter, and an orange cylender [sic] container holding small amounts of marijuana shake.” The items were confiscated and the student was referred to the Dean of Students “instead of being charged for the drug paraphernalia found in his room.”
On Feb. 22, WUPD dispatch received a fire alarm activation from a room in Margaret Nance Hall. The officer responded to the hall and spoke with a student who “stated she was drying her hair with her blow dryer and it set off the smoke detector in her room,” according to the report. The responding officer investigated and found no signs of damage in the room.
On Feb. 22, a call was received about “students being on the roof” of a building. The caller declined to leave a name but did give the name of someone who was alleged to be on the roof. A WUPD officer responded but did not find anyone on the roof. Later that day, a sergeant with WUPD reached out to the person whose name was given in regards to the students who were on the roof. The student (referred to as The Accused in the report) met with the sergeant and said that “he had been sort of seeing another student, and that they had recently broken things off.” The Accused “stated that he had been hanging out with some other female friends” and that he had an idea of who the Complainant was. The Accused said that he had posted a photo on social media of himself and one of the women. He said he later received a call from the complainant on Feb. 20 and that “there was an indication that the Complainant knew that the Accused was on the roof of Rutledge.” The report goes on to state that the Accused “believed that the Complainant was jealous of the people he was hanging out with.” The Accused told WUPD that “he thought that the Complainant had managed to gain access into [his residence] and was in his apartment, and that is how the Complainant knew he was on the roof with other people.” The Accused stated to WUPD that “he had gained access to the roof area via a hatch in Room #212 of Rutledge Hall. The Accused said that there was a lock but that the hatch was improperly secured.” The Accused showed members the department where the hatch was and the hatch was secured by an officer “preventing anyone else from going to the roof area.” The next day, an officer with the Complainant and learned that “The Complainant had recently shared some very personal stuff that was going on with her with the Accused. The Accused had apparently shared this information with the Complainant’s roommate without her knowledge or permission.” The Complainant said that she had attempted to contact the Accused while driving around but said that he had not answered her calls. Additionally, she remained “adamant” that she had not entered the Accused’s residence. WUPD checked the security cameras in the Accused’s residence and determined that there was no evidence that the Complainant had entered the Accused’s room. The Accused has been referred to the Dean of Students office regarding the “decision to access the roof of Rutledge with other individuals.”
Graphic: Maggie Claytor/ The Johnsonian
