Fire burnin' on the dance floor
A fire alarm at 12:28 a.m. on Nov. 11 went off at the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house at 98 Professors Row. When Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) officers arrived, between 50 and 100 people were exiting the house, but many still remained inside. Two students, when told to evacuate the premises by TUPD, ignored the request and kept on drinking. The officers asked for their IDs and issued a report to the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs for failure to leave during a fire alarm. The remaining students evacuated eventually.
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AWOL
TUPD officers at 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 12 arrived at West Hall on reports of a strong odor of marijuana. When the officers arrived at the room from which the odor was emanating, the door was open. They found two bottles of liquor along with a trash can full of beers and an empty red cup. No one was in the room. TUPD confiscated and destroyed the alcohol.
D'oh!
While patrolling the Academic Quad, TUPD officers at 2:21 a.m. on Nov. 14 noticed a painted image of a white traffic lane on the asphalt outside of Ballou Hall. The phrase "No turn on red" appeared on the right side of the lane, while "Left turn only" appeared on the left side with an arrow pointing to the cannon. The cannon, according to TUPD Sgt. Robert McCarthy, had "Theta Delta Chi" and "123" painted on it.
Officers reported to the fraternity house, located at 123 Packard Ave. They found the door open and spoke with students inside. Officers found a keg inside the house, as well as the white paint used to paint the cannon and the image on the ground. The residents agreed to pay restitution for the vandalism outside of Ballou, though the exact amount has not yet been determined. Officers also confiscated the keg.
"If you're going to paint the street, then don't write your name on the cannon," McCarthy said.
You can run, but you can't hide
TUPD at 2:23 a.m. on Nov. 13 received a call from a resident of the International House, located at 13 Sawyer Ave., reporting the theft of two laptops and a flat-screen television. The resident saw the burglar walking out of the house with the items and wrote down a partial license plate number. TUPD officers reporting to the scene identified the entire plate number and traced it back to a Malden, Mass. resident. TUPD notified all surrounding police departments.
Medford Police Department and state police officers found and stopped the vehicle in Medford. They arrested the Malden resident, who was unaffiliated with Tufts, for breaking and entering as well as for possession of stolen property. Officers recovered the television and the laptops, as well as a Sony PlayStation console and a backpack. The case will go to court, McCarthy said.
—compiled by Alexandra Bogus based on reports from the Tufts University Police Department
