by Jeremy Hunt
Daily Lobo
For some people, Halloween is more about the tricks than the treats.
UNM had its share of Halloween mischief, with two groups of students threatened with handguns and the 10th-straight day of a graffiti spree that has cost the University $10,000 so far.
At about 10 p.m. on Tuesday, three students were robbed in the parking lot on the west side of Mesa Vista Hall by three men, two of whom had guns, said Lt. Pat Davis, UNM Police spokesman.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
The men stole $30 from the three students and ran toward the intersection of Central Avenue and Girard Boulevard, he said. UNM Police and Albuquerque Police Department officers searched the area but didn't find the men.
All three men are 18- to 20-year-old Hispanics, Davis said.
Two of them were thin and about 5 feet 11 inches tall, with blue bandanas over their faces and blue or black sweatshirts.
The third was heavyset, 6 feet 2 inches tall and wore a puffy jacket with the hood pulled over his head, Davis said.
On Wednesday at about 1:55 a.m., five students were walking to their dorm when they were approached by two men with guns, Davis said. The students ran from the men to Laguna Hall, where the men with guns broke a window near one of the entrances,
according to the police report.
The two men from the Laguna Hall incident matched the description of two of the men from the earlier report, Davis said.
Police are investigating to see if the same people were involved in each incident.
"It may or may not be related," he said. "It is possible."
Joel Straquadine, facilities manager for Physical Plant, said for the last 10 days, UNM has been hit with graffiti by two people. He said Halloween doesn't play a role in the graffiti.
"We can identify by the color and the style that it is just two people doing most of what's happened the last 10 days," he said. "There was nothing that was definitely because of Halloween."
Straquadine said the 10-day graffiti spree has cost an average of $1,000 per day in materials and labor.
Mischief, such as smashing pumpkins and throwing eggs or toilet paper, is harmless if there are no injuries or property damage, student Matt Sauer said.
"If you're just goofing around with your friends, that's fine," he said "Halloween mischief is OK as long as no one gets hurt."
Student Nena Hedrick said people use their costumes as an excuse to cause trouble.
"They're dressed out of character, so they act out of character," she said. "I've always had better things to do on Halloween."
Student Grant Mock said he participated in Halloween mischief when he was younger, but he doesn't anymore.
"I thought I was hot snot," he said. "It's just high school stuff. People shouldn't be doing that in college. Grow up and get a job."
