Last month, UNMPD and the Physical Plant Department discovered that at least one homeless individual had been living in the tunnel system below Northrop Hall, according to a UNMPD report.
It was apparent that multiple homeless people had entered and exited the tunnel system. Clothing, trash bags, partially eaten food, empty water bottles, empty suitcases and other property that did not belong to the tunnel utility area lined the tunnel walls.
A living area with chairs, a space heater, a hammock system attached to piping, bedding and other personal property that did not belong to the area was placed near a few steam pipes toward the end of the system, according to the report.
UNMPD ensures areas of campus are secure by completing building checks, spokesman Lt. Tim Stump said.
“PPD checks the locks on the tunnels periodically,” Stump said. “We also check the locks periodically. They realized something was wrong, because the lock was broken. There would have been no reason to go inside the tunnel otherwise.”
Associate Director of Utilities at PPD Larry Schuster said his department “is responsible for the care and upkeep of the University’s built environment. Because of our role, we know our buildings and visit them regularly. This allows us to easily notice vandalism. In this case, a utilities staff member noticed a lock was repeatedly broken after fixing it and went into the crawlspace to investigate. This is when the ‘camp’ was found.”
According to the report, on Jan. 19, an officer was sent to Northrop Hall to speak with an individual who said a tunnel entry door was damaged. On Jan. 17, the individual said he noticed the door was damaged on the northwest exterior of the building. The male said he placed a work order with the UNM Lock Shop; the deadbolt was replaced the same day.
The male saw the deadbolt on the same door was damaged beyond repair on Jan. 19, because unknown subjects attempted to enter. The UNM Lock Shop was contacted again; shop employees removed what was left of the deadbolt and opened the door, which was when the items belonging to homeless individuals were discovered, according to the report.
According to the report, while searching the area, the UNMPD officer noticed a male attempting to hide. He was in a corner, crouching down with a full-length shotgun on the floor beside him.
The officer ordered him to stand up and show his hands. He complied and was placed in handcuffs. The officer escorted him outside and reminded him of his rights. The subject said he and other individuals had been living in the tunnel system for a while and admitted to being under the influence of drugs.
Stump said the number of individuals living in the tunnels — as well as the length of time they were living there — is uncertain, because the objects found on scene may have belonged to the subject or someone else. No one else living there was identified, he said.
According to the report, after requesting assistance from additional officers and detectives, the officer returned to the tunnel system, where he retrieved what appeared to be a fully functional shotgun and sent the information to the National Crime Information Center.
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The firearm was later determined to be stolen from Albuquerque Police Jurisdiction on June 20, 2014. The subject found in the tunnel was arrested later for possession of a firearm and commercial burglary. A background check indicated he had a felony conviction within the past 10 years.
No other weapons were found on scene, nor were any other arrests made, Stump said.
Schuster said cleanup has already been completed by BELFOR Property Restoration. Homeless individuals regularly visit campus; however, the University is maintained in a way so as to prevent homeless individuals making a shelter in certain parts of campus.
But last month’s discovery was something new.
“UNM is an open, public campus in the heart of a large city, so there is no way to have certainty that individuals will not stay in other locations,” Schuster said. “The UNM Police Department, building staff and PPD do a great job in reporting when homeless are in buildings or sheltering on campus.”
When asked how a case like this is generally handled, Stump said every call is its own unique situation.
“Every call is different. I can only answer to this particular call,” he said. “A subject was located inside and arrested on the listed charges in the report.”
He and Schuster said UNM faculty, staff and students should continue to report suspicious activities/individuals to UNMPD.
Elizabeth Sanchez is a reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Beth_A_Sanchez.
