Police beat 1/22: “Eh, I had other things to do yesterday” and a golf cart in a pond

Alex Bowman, Police Reporter

Damaged car in Lot 18

Late Thursday morning, a student went to UNFPD to report damage done to his mother’s car the previous day, according to a report.

An officer arrived to speak to the complainant about the incident, which was dispatched as a hit and run. The complainant told the officer he had parked his mother’s car in Lot 18 the previous day at roughly 8:00 a.m., and when he returned to the car around 2:30 p.m., he noticed that the car had sustained damage on the rear right side of the rear passenger door. The student told the officer that he knew what car had done the damage. 

He said there had been a red car parked next to him earlier that morning, but that it was gone when he returned to his mother’s car in the afternoon. Additionally, the student said he had gotten the license plate number of the car that was parked next to him. When the officer heard this, he asked the student why he didn’t report the damage the day before, and the student replied, “Eh, I had other things to do yesterday.” 

The officer then explained that “the earlier you report damage done, the easier it is to determine who is at fault for the incident.” 

The student appeared to be agitated that the officer suggested he report the damage earlier than he had, according to the report.

The complainant told the officer that he wanted a different officer to assess the damage on his mother’s car and complete the report, so the officer asked a colleague to complete the report. The damage done to the car was consistent with someone hitting the car with their own car door. 

When the officer asked the complainant for the license plate number of the car who was parked next to him, the complainant only had 2 of the possible 6 digits required for a license plate number which was insufficient to obtain any information on the suspected car. There was no way to determine that the other car was at fault, so the officer just completed a damaged property report.

Golf Cart into the pond

Tuesday, a UNFPD officer was dispatched to Central Parkway and Regent Blvd. in reference to a damage incident, according to a report.

The officer met with a UNF Campus Maintenance employee who said he had been driving a golf cart across the crosswalk at Regent Blvd. and Central Parkway when a maroon Lexus turned onto Regent Blvd. The Maintenance employee said he was startled by the car and sped up in order to avoid being hit which resulted in losing control of the cart and ultimately leading to the cart being driven into a pond.

RLR
Picture courtesy of picquery.com

The Maintenance employee didn’t get any more information on the vehicle and there weren’t any witnesses, according to the report.

The golf cart was removed from the pond by a Jax based wrecker company with minimal damage.

Stolen Wallet at the Gym

Last weekend, a UNFPD officer was dispatched to the UPD in reference to a theft, according to a report.

When the officer arrived, he talked to the young woman who reported the theft. She told the officer that she had been going to the UNF Student Wellness Complex to workout when she left her wallet in a locker. After placing it in the locker, she left the locker room to workout without locking the locker.

Photo by Joseph Basco

When she returned roughly 45 minutes later, she checked her locker, but her wallet was gone. The victim said no one was around the locker room, and she had no idea who would steal her wallet. Immediately, she called her credit card company to cancel her credit card and was also informed that no fraudulent purchases had been made with her card since it was stolen.

Due to the nature of the location, there were no video cameras present.

For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact [email protected].