The Emory Wheel regularly meets with Emory Police Department (EPD) Records Manager Ed Shoemaker (87G, 90G) and Communications Director of Campus Safety Morieka Johnson (94C, 24L) and uses EPD’s public crime log to inform the Emory University community about recent crime on and around Emory’s campuses.
To report a crime, contact EPD at 404-727-6111 or police@emory.edu.
Theft by taking at The Ridge
A student living at The Ridge, an Emory housing complex for graduate students, contacted EPD on April 16 just before 10:30 p.m. to report a missing pair of Apple AirPods.
The resident said that she took her AirPods to the community center, located on the ground level of one of the buildings at The Ridge. The last time she saw her AirPods there was on April 15 at about 9:00 p.m. She said she was unsure why she left them there.
On April 16, the resident discovered the AirPods were missing when she used a tracking feature and found that they were elsewhere in Atlanta. She then provided EPD with information about the location.
EPD referred the case to investigators for follow-up.
Shoemaker cautioned individuals not to go to the location of their missing item themselves.
“You may have the location because of the tracking feature, but it’s not usually a good idea to go in person and try to demand your property back,” Shoemaker said. “You can walk into a lot of bad situations that way.”
Harassing communications, stalking at Clairmont Tower
A student residing at Clairmont Tower contacted EPD on April 17 at about 10:00 a.m. when she and her boyfriend had received threatening communications.
The student explained to EPD that her boyfriend, who is not affiliated with Emory, had previously initiated legal action against a third party, also not affiliated with Emory, over alleged stolen computer parts last year. Shoemaker said this provoked the third party, which resulted in him sending harassing communications to the student and her boyfriend.
The third party threatened to go to the boyfriend’s former residence or to his mother’s house and threatened to harm the boyfriend’s mother. The student told EPD that the third party had been to the Atlanta campus looking for her boyfriend.
The student said that these communications would come occasionally, but that they had become more frequent over the last two months. On April 17, at about 1:00 a.m., the third party sent the boyfriend several texts and phone calls where the third party referenced the student’s on-campus address.
The student clarified that she has not had any direct contact with the third party sending the messages and that all the messages have been sent to her boyfriend.
On April 17 at about 11:45 a.m., the student called EPD again, reporting that the third party sent a photograph of what the student said appeared to be the outside of Clairmont Tower, where she lives. EPD then attempted to locate the individual but was unable to do so. However, EPD does know where the third party lives as well as his physical appearance. Shoemaker said EPD is approaching this situation in a way to maximize the student’s safety.
Criminal trespass at the Hugh F. MacMillan Law Library
EPD received a call from a custodial services supervisor at Emory’s Hugh F. MacMillan Law Library on April 21 at about 10:00 p.m. The supervisor was in the building when he witnessed an individual attempt to enter without card access.
When EPD arrived, the supervisor pointed out the individual, who was walking away. EPD then stopped and identified the individual, who said that he was trying to get into the building to use the bathroom. An EPD officer observed that the man was having difficulty staying on topic in their conversation, as they had to ask the same question several times to receive a coherent answer.
An EPD officer not at the scene contacted the officers who were on the scene to inform them that EPD had warned the individual to leave the property earlier in the day. EPD then confirmed his identity and gave him a written criminal trespass warning. The man indicated that he understood the warning and left the property. A criminal trespass warning restricts someone from returning to Emory except to receive emergency medical treatment.
On April 22 at about 1:15 a.m., EPD responded to a call from The University Inn at Emory, a motel across from the Emory School of Law. The DeKalb County Police (DCP) contacted EPD for assistance. When EPD arrived at the motel, they discovered that the DCP had received a call about an individual roaming outside the University and exposing himself.
EPD identified the individual as the same person they had issued a criminal trespass warning to earlier in the day. EPD did not have any charges to impose on the individual and instructed him to leave Emory property. DCP then placed the man under arrest.
