The University Record, September 20, 1999 By Rebecca A. Doyle
Editor’s Note: Because the Record does not publish Police Beat in August, the following brief items and the accompanying map show statistics for crimes reported on campus in both July and August. Incidents reported after Aug. 30 may appear in the text, but are not shown on the map.
Woman found dead in parking structure
A 47-year-old woman was found dead about 3 p.m. Sept. 9 in a University parking structure near the Taubman Center. A final determination of the cause of death will not be released until a complete autopsy and toxicology report are available, according to Department of Public Safety (DPS) Lt. Wes Skowron. He estimates that a report will be completed by the Washtenaw County medical examiner within a week.
The woman, who resided in Westland, was a Health System staff member who was on an extended disability leave. A preliminary investigation revealed the woman had a gunshot wound to the head, and a gun and a note were found on the scene, indicating that the death was probably a suicide.
Flood causes power outage, damage at Med Sci I and II, MSRB I and II
A security officer reported flooding at Medical Science II Building early Sept. 14, and DPS officers responded with personnel from the Office of Energy Management, Occupational Safety and Environmental Health and Plant Utilities. The housing containing the impeller for a domestic water pump in Medical Science Research Building II had ruptured and water flooded level A in that building and all sublevels in hot water up to four inches deep, shutting down power in some areas of Medical Science Research Building I.
Staff worked through the night and all the next day to check for biological or radiation contamination of the flooding water and to provide alternate sources for electric power and ventilation for freezers and fans in the Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine as well as other research areas. Units in the buildings have resumed normal operation.
Damage estimates were not yet available at Record press time.
Four complaints of criminal sexual conduct reported
DPS officers investigated four complaints of criminal sexual conduct during July and August. Two of the incidents, on July 24 and July 26, were at Mott Children’s Hospital. In each incident, a visitor was awakened by a man rubbing their buttocks. A suspect has been identified and the case is under review by the Washtenaw County prosecuting attorney.
The prosecuting attorney also is reviewing a third incident—a report made by a female employee who attended a first aid class that the instructor made continued advances and grabbed and kissed her after the class. She reported that she had repeatedly refused him and tried to avoid him after the class in the Modern Languages Building.
In the fourth complaint, a man is charged with four counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct and faces a Sept. 22 preliminary hearing following a report that he sexually abused a family member over a nine-day period in August.
Women lose purses in late-night armed robbery
Three women living at Northwood V apartments were confronted by a young male who took a bag containing two purses on July 24 at 3:30 a.m. The women were returning from a late movie when they were approached by the man who grabbed the bag and tried to take it forcibly from one of the women. When they resisted, he pointed a small silver handgun at two of them and then fled with the purses.
Officers from the Ann Arbor Police Department’s K-9 unit used dogs to trace the suspect’s path to
another parking lot on North Campus, where police suspect he entered a waiting vehicle and left. The case is still under investigation.
Conflicting stories reduce charges in North Campus domestic assault
A man is serving a 93-day jail term after he pled guilty before Washtenaw County Judge Elizabeth Hines in 15th District Court Aug. 4. DPS officers became aware of a dispute when the man was treated at University Hospital for bleach burns to his eyes and face. The man claimed his wife had thrown bleach in his face, but when they confronted her at her North Campus home, she reported that he had slapped her and threatened her with a gun. Charges of assault with a deadly weapon were later dropped and he was charged only with domestic assault.
Other reported crimes
DPS officers in July responded to one report of arson, five burglaries and 127 reports of larceny. In August, officers logged responses to one arson, 13 burglaries and 130 larcenies. These crimes are in addition to the felony crimes listed in the table that accompanies the incident map..
