Police beat: stolen bikes, masked men, missing signs

Alex Bowman, Police Reporter

The culprit pedals away in this one.

On Oct. 26, a UNF student’s bike was stolen, according to a police report.

The student met with an officer in regards to the bike being stolen. She said she had left her Cruiser bike on the rack outside of the Crossings the night before and was certain she had locked it, but the following morning, the bike along with the lock were missing.

Unfortunately, there was no video surveillance of the area.

Masked men run around parking lot, ask women for Snapchats

A case of pre-Halloween spooks, or was it something more sinister?

A UNFPD officer was dispatched to the Fountains parking lot on Oct. 25 in reference to 5 or 6 men running around the lot in ski masks, according to a police report.

When the officer first arrived on scene, he didn’t see anything, according to the report. After looking around the parking lot, the officer met with the first witness who said she had been sitting in her car talking with her mom on the phone when she noticed some shadows around her car. She soon noticed that they were men in ski masks. After she noticed them, she said that one of the men came up to her driver side window and said something she couldn’t understand.

After talking to the first witness, the officer talked to the second who said she had been walking out to her car in the parking lot when she saw the men running around the lot. She said one of the men followed her and kept asking her for her Snapchat username, which she wouldn’t give to him. Eventually, he left her alone and she proceeded to her car.

Lastly, the officer talked to the last witness, who said she had been sitting in her car when she hear several voices. When she looked up she saw that 5 or 6 men wearing ski masks were surrounding her car just standing there. One of them was just staring at her while another lifted his shirt to show his abs. That same man then asked for the young woman’s Snapchat username, which she didn’t give to him. The man who asked for her Snapchat username held up his phone and the young woman noticed his Snapchat username. She said it was something similar to “Amrrr.” 

None of the young women said they saw any weapons or were threatened in any way, according to the report.

Another missing bike

On Oct. 25, some UNF officers were patrolling the campus on foot when they were stopped by a student who said her bike had been stolen, according to a police report.

The student said approximately two weeks ago she had parked her bike outside of Building 12 when it was stolen. She said the bike had not been secured by a lock. The student described the bike as a light green men’s mountain bike with an approximate $70 value.

The area wasn’t searched since the theft had taken place weeks before the student reported it, and additionally, there was no video surveillance of the area, according to the report.

“Dismount Zone” signs stolen

One might even say that there’s no sign of the signs…

Earlier this week, the Associate Director of the Parking and Transportation Services reported to UNFPD that six signs had been stolen in three areas of the UNF campus, according to the police report.

The signs that were stolen were signs that said “Dismount Zone” attempting to get students who ride bikes or skateboards or other forms of transportation on campus to dismount while crossing the street or going through other areas where they are required to dismount. These signs were brand new and had just been put on campus on the 24th of last month. The signs were stolen from the Lot 7 crosswalk, Lot 18 crosswalk, and the Lot 10 crosswalk.

Additionally, one sign they found that wasn’t stolen had been intentionally damaged, according to the report.

There was no video surveillance of the areas and no witnesses, according to the report.

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