The Emory Wheel regularly meets with Emory Police Department (EPD) Records Manager Ed Shoemaker (87G, 90G) and Director of Campus Safety Communications 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 shoplifting at Emory University Hospital (EUH) gift shop
EPD responded to a call from EUH employees about stolen items from the hospital gift shop at about 2:20 p.m. on Jan. 29. When officers arrived, they met with Emory Healthcare Public Safety, which is responsible for EUH security. Public Safety officials told EPD that gift shop employees watched the suspect steal $322 of merchandise.
The subject stole clothing items and three bottles of men’s cologne. EPD officers spoke with employees, who reported seeing the subject before and recognized him as a prior shoplifter. The employees then contacted Public Safety, which dispatched officers who prevented the subject from leaving the gift shop until EPD arrived.
When officers asked the subject for identification, he stated he did not have an ID with him. The subject initially provided EPD with a fake name, then ultimately provided his real name and date of birth. Officers explained to the subject that presenting a false name and date of birth to a law enforcement officer is a crime, and then took him into custody.
EPD searched the man for the stolen items and found the clothing and bottles of men’s cologne, which he had “stuffed down the front of his pants.” During the search, the man indicated that he was experiencing chest pains. EPD then took the man to the hospital’s emergency room, where medical staff treated him for about two and a half hours before he was released.
Once released, EPD transported the man to the DeKalb County Jail, where officers charged him with theft by shoplifting and providing a false name and date of birth.
Attempted theft by extortion via video chat at Harris Hall
EPD met with a Harris Hall resident at 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 30 to discuss a case of attempted extortion through explicit video chat. Shoemaker said the student was speaking with an individual on an online video chat when both participants removed their clothing, exposing themselves.
After they finished speaking, the individual that the student was speaking with began to send the student messages on Telegram, an instant messaging service, saying that they had stream-recorded the video conversation and had taken sexually explicit photos of the student. The individual threatened to post the photos online unless the student paid $500 to have the messages deleted.
The student acknowledged he knew the other party’s Telegram account name but did not know the individual’s real identity. The individual repeatedly contacted the student, asking him to send the money. An EPD officer observed several message exchanges between the student and the other party and obtained screenshots as evidence of the attempted extortion.
Currently, the student has not paid the other individual any money. EPD has connected the student with supportive resources, including staff at the Office of Respect. EPD will continue to investigate the situation.
Criminal trespass and property damage at Michael Street Parking Deck
An Emory student filed a complaint with EPD shortly before noon on Jan. 30 regarding an unknown individual who keyed his parked car in the Michael Street Parking Deck on Jan. 27.
On Jan. 27, the student parked his car in the parking deck for about four hours in the morning, and then for about three to four more hours in the afternoon. He discovered the scratch on the vehicle the following day, on Jan. 28.
On Jan. 30, when EPD arrived, the student pointed out a thin scratch that ran from the passenger-side taillight across the rear passenger door and ended near the front passenger door.
When EPD officers asked the student if he knew of any potential suspects who might have keyed his car, the student responded that he did not. Officers used various camera systems to determine when the incident occurred, narrowing the time window to between his arrival on Jan. 27 at about 8:30 a.m. and his temporary departure from campus at about 12:15 p.m. the same day. This case is currently under investigation.
