Criminal trespass resulting in property damage at Briarcliff Campus
The burglary alarm was triggered in Building A of Emory University’s Briarcliff Campus on Oct. 27. The building in question is an abandoned mental health institute that gained notoriety in recent years as the filming location for Hawkin’s Lab in the Netflix series “Stranger Things.”
When Emory Police Department (EPD) officers arrived to respond to the alarm, they found evidence of trespassing. The gate arm that prevents vehicles from entering the premises was broken. Officers also found a door and window that had been “busted open” in Building A, EPD Records Manager Ed Shoemaker said. Officers on the scene did not discover anything missing from the building or premises, so this incident is currently classified as a misdemeanor, Shoemaker added. If new evidence of theft is found, the case will be upgraded in severity.
An investigator is assigned to this case so it is still considered active and no further details can be disclosed.
Theft by taking (valued over $1,500) at Woodruff Health Sciences Administration Building
On Oct. 27, EPD received a report of a stolen production switcher at the Woodruff Health Sciences Administration Building. The reporting party told EPD that the production switcher, valued at about $3,400, was kept in a large black case in the auditorium in the basement of the building. Shoemaker added that they reported that the theft took place “sometime in the last month.”
The reporting party is an outside contractor who does not work for Emory and the production switcher is not University property.
Cases with wide gaps in time between when the theft took place and when the theft was reported are much more difficult to solve due to increased time and evidence to go through, Shoemaker said.
In Georgia, theft by taking is defined as “when a person unlawfully takes or, being in lawful possession thereof, unlawfully appropriates any property of another with the intention of depriving him of the property, regardless of the manner in which property is taken or appropriated.” If the theft is valued over $500, it is considered a felony and carries jail time between one to 10 years.
This is an active case and has been assigned to an investigator.
Theft by taking (motor vehicle parts or accessories, exterior) at Emory Dialysis Center
On Oct. 22, EPD received a report of theft by taking in the Emory Dialysis at North Decatur parking lot. The reporting party told EPD that the theft had occurred 10 days prior, Shoemaker said.
The complainant is an employee at the dialysis center who told EPD that he came to work at 7:00 a.m. on Oct. 12 and parked his gray 2015 Toyota Tacoma in the employee parking lot. The complainant alleged that he had trouble starting his car when he tried to leave later that day at 3:00 p.m. He then looked around his vehicle and found that two catalytic converters had been stripped off and taken from the under-carriage of his car. Further, the complainant discovered that the air-lines of the vehicle were damaged in the theft. The repairs cost the complainant $3,038.
Shoemaker described this kind of crime as “not uncommon.”
“Catalytic converters are relatively easy to take off from the car, and are sold for the metal content in them,” Shoemaker said.
EPD Communications Director Morieka Johnson (94C) also provided the following resource, urging Emory car owners to be aware of the dangers and preventative steps to avoid catalytic converter theft.
Simple assault at Woodruff Residential Center
On Oct. 23, EPD received a report of simple assault that occurred at Woodruff Residential Center earlier that day. A female student who lives in the dorm called EPD and reported that at around 11:50 a.m, she received a call from her suitemate that the door to their shared bathroom was locked. The caller acknowledged that she had used the bathroom that morning and forgot to unlock the door before leaving the suite, so she returned to unlock the bathroom.
When the caller returned to the dorm, her suitemate’s boyfriend, who is also an Emory student, was in the suite and began yelling at her. He held the door of the caller’s room open and continued yelling at her, despite the caller telling the boyfriend that he was scaring her. The caller asked the boyfriend to leave her alone, but he was unwilling to do so unless the caller promised to never lock the bathroom door again, which the caller refused to promise.
The boyfriend continued to be verbally aggressive, at which point the caller made the report to EPD.
When talking with EPD, the caller said the boyfriend’s actions made her fear for her safety, and asked EPD for information about getting a temporary protective order, to which EPD officers proceeded to offer assistance.
“In Georgia law, simple assault is defined as putting someone in reasonable fear of receiving an immediate bodily injury,” Shoemaker said.
He added that EPD is not aware if the caller ended up filing and receiving a temporary protective order, which dictates a minimum distance and bars all contact between two parties. Violations of the terms of the protective order grant law enforcement leverage to pursue criminal charges.
This is an active case and has been assigned to an investigator.
Arson in the third degree at 18 Eagle Row
The interim Director of Fire Safety Paul Winfrey asked EPD to respond on Oct. 15 after fire damage was discovered in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house at 18 Eagle Row. When EPD arrived at the scene of the fire, they found that six doors on the second floor of the building were damaged. The six rooms were side-by-side, and all had a paper name tag on the outside of the door. The name tags on these doors had been set on fire, which spread to the doors.
This case has been determined as arson in the third degree because the fire had been started intentionally, and the damages exceeded $25, according to Shoemaker. Arson in the third degree is a felony in Georgia.
This is an active case and EPD is conducting an investigation in collaboration with fire department and safety officials.
