Thanksgiving Break: a time for food, family, friends, relaxation, maybe some work and ... crime?
While many members of the University community were enjoying their holiday, several unlawful incidents occurred in the area, including a series of thefts reported in two University dorms and several incidents relating to Saturday's football game.
University Police Lt. Melissa Fielding said several students currently residing in the Cauthen and Woody dormitories returned from their vacation to find their rooms burglarized. Seven reports of burglaries describe a stolen iPod, television, several video gaming systems, cash and other items taken from the rooms.
Fielding noted that the University Police Department is investigating and "actively pursuing" any suspects and leads in the case, but added she could not yet say whether the incidents were connected.
"My guess is that the Woody ones are [connected], and the Cauthen ones are [too], but it's too early to guess that they all are," Fielding said.
Fielding said students most likely neglected to lock their doors or secure their personal belongings. She also said that the thieving trespassers would have still had to gain entry into the dorm buildings themselves.
John Nelson, co-chair of the Student Council's Safety and Wellness Committee, said such incidents have been discussed in an effort to find solutions and curb future burglaries.
"It's very common for students to leave their doors unlocked," Nelson said, adding that students should be encouraged to lock their doors when leaving their residences for an extended period of time.
In addition to the dorm thefts, a separate, smaller-scale theft occurred Sunday at the Aquatic & Fitness Center, according to Fielding. The AFC thefts are still under investigation.
A rash of illegal incidents also marred Saturday's Virginia-Virginia Tech football game.
Fielding said "almost 20 students" were arrested for public drunkenness before, during and after Saturday's final home football game in the area of Scott Stadium.
The number of arrests "was up from previous games, and there were a lot of people tailgating early," Fielding said, also noting that the number of students arrested was "probably significantly higher [than] that of previous years."
Pat Lampkin, vice president of student affairs, said the number of arrests made Saturday was alarming.
"That does seem a little higher than normal," Lampkin said. "Of course, in the realm of what we are dealing with, it's low, but zero is what we are shooting for."
Lampkin added that students engaging in such inebriated behavior are only hurting themselves.
"We want to help them," she said.
Several hours before the start of the game, other members of the University were also engaged in activities that warranted a police presence.
Charlottesville Director of Communications Ric Barrick said a University student and a Virginia Tech student engagedw in a brawl outside of Littlejohn's on the Corner.
"Police responded to a man on the ground who was unresponsive," Barrick said. "The [Virginia Tech student] had a gash above his eye, and witnesses said he had been yelling 'Go Hokies,' before the [University student] hit him in the head with a closed fist, and his head had hit the bricks."
Barrick added that the Virginia Tech student was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for his injuries before "awaking confused."
Barrick said alcohol played a role in the case on the part of the Virginia Tech student, but could not confirm whether the University student had also been drinking. No arrests were made.
Still earlier last week, on Tuesday, according to Fielding, three juveniles wielding a knife approached a student sitting in his car on Bonnycastle Drive and demanded an iPod.
The student, according to a University Police press release, "was able to roll up his window and lock himself in his car while he called 911," and was uninjured.
Lampkin said the student-victim's "very smart thinking" allowed him to escape the precarious situation.
All three juveniles, Fielding noted, then fled the scene before being stopped by police near Emmet Street.
The juveniles -- aged 13, 14, and 15 -- were charged with armed robbery. Fielding said the Commonwealth does not have a statute in the books regarding "attempted" armed robbery.
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