UNM Crime Briefs

Report: Craigslist scam duped student

On Sept. 12, police were dispatched in response to a UNM student’s report that she had been scammed online. According to the report, the woman said she received a check in the mail after responding to an ad on Craigslist and then cashed the check. The woman then allegedly sent a similar sum of money to an out-of-state address via Western Union. After she did so, the woman’s bank notified her that the check she cashed was fraudulent and her account was overdrawn, according to the report.

Police assume that the scammers “set up a fake Craigslist ad to scam unsuspecting victims out money utilizing fraudulent checks.” Police are unable to find “viable offender information” at the moment, and the case is closed pending further leads.

Vandals defaced UNM walls, police report

On Sept. 12, a UNMPD officer conducting building checks on campus observed graffiti on the “southeast wall located (at) 221 Yale Boulevard NE,” according to a police report. The graffiti read “Free the seed of corporate greed.” The officer later noticed graffiti of the same vein in the northeast courtyard of Popejoy Hall, according to the report. Police have not yet identified a suspect for the vandalism.

Police: Man ejected for threats, abuse

On Sept. 15, a UNMH nurse observed a man “speaking in a verbally abusive manner” to a female patient in the patient’s room, according to a police report. The nurse allegedly told the man to cease his abuse, which was also disruptive to the care of other patients on the floor. The man allegedly refused, so the nurse ordered him to leave. The man refused again and acted verbally abusive toward the nurse, according to the report.

Eventually, the man agreed to depart, but continued shouting profanities at the nurse, according to the report. As he walked out of the door, the man allegedly threatened the nurse with physical violence. Although no further incident occurred, the nurse allegedly told police she felt “that if the doors had not closed on him, he would have hit (the nurse).” Police did not locate the man after the incident.

Report: Stolen pack had credit cards, IDs

On Sept. 13, a man reported the theft of his backpack and its contents to UNMPD. According to a police report, he set his backpack down in the lounge of Chama dorm in Casas del Rio but forgot to pick it up before he left the building that night. When the man returned the next morning, the backpack and its contents were missing.

According to the report, the thief tried to use the man’s credit cards, which had been in the backpack. The man had allegedly already cancelled the cards. Police advised him to notify the state Motor Vehicle Department about the theft of his IDs, according to the report. Police are unable to find a suspect or a witness to the incident, and the case is closed pending further leads.