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(11/10/05 5:55am)
Five IU students face a range of drug charges after IU Police Department officers found marijuana, cocaine, psilocybin mushrooms and $1,400 in cash in a pair of residences Tuesday night.\nThe arrests came at the end of a several-month long investigation by IUPD Det. Dave Hannum. Hannum obtained a search warrant at 9:50 p.m. Tuesday for 713 N. Lincoln St., a house where four of the students live, after receiving a tip they would be selling drugs Tuesday night.\nJuniors Robert J. Strauss, Igor Zharovsky, Steven Reichard and Andrew Magdovitz were all at the house when officers arrived. \nIUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said police arrested all four after finding drugs throughout the residence.\nAccording to the police report, officers found drugs in individual rooms and an open bag containing about a quarter pound of marijuana in plain view on a table as well as a smaller bag and numerous paraphernalia in the living room. \nWhile IUPD officers conducted a search of the house, two more people -- Christopher Allman and Bruce Scott Davis -- showed up and were arrested. Police found a substance believed to be cocaine on Allman and also learned that he was wanted on a warrant in reference to a drug case in Columbus, Ind. According to the report, Davis had a large amount of money and a small bag of marijuana when he arrived.\nAfter arresting Davis, Hannum wrote a second probable cause affidavit and received a search warrant to enter Davis' apartment at 203 N. Washington St. Police conducted that search at 3 a.m. Wednesday and seized two containers of a white powder substance and several containers of a substance believed to be marijuana, including two with more than 30 grams of the substance each.\nRichard McKaig, IU dean of students, said he had not been fully briefed on this case Wednesday but that the students would go through the IU judicial process.\n"The student code does prohibit unauthorized possession, manufacturing, sale or distribution of illegal drugs or being under the influence of them at all, for that matter," McKaig said.\nMcKaig said he will learn more about the case in his weekly meeting with IUPD next Wednesday. \nAs of Wednesday afternoon, Reichard, Zharovsky, Strauss and Magdovita had all bonded out of Monroe County Jail. Allman and Davis were still being held there with bonds of $20,000 surety and $100,000 surety respectively, and $500 cash each.\nReached by phone, Zharovsky said he would not talk about his arrest this week.\nPreliminary charges\n• Robert J. Strauss, junior -- Possession of cocaine with intent to deliver (Class A felony), possession of marijuana over 30 grams with intent to deliver (Class B felony), maintaining a common nuisance (Class D felony) and possession of paraphernalia (misdemeanor). $50,000 surety bond paid.\n• Igor Zharovsky, junior -- Possession of psilocybin mushroom with intent to deliver (Class B felony), possession of marijuana over 30 grams with intent to deliver (Class B felony) and maintaining a common nuisance (Class D felony). $40,000 surety bond paid.\n• Andrew Magdovitz, junior -- Possession of marijuana over 30 grams (Class D felony), maintaining a common nuisance (Class D felony), possession of paraphernalia (misdemeanor). $4,000 surety bond paid.\n• Steven Reichard, junior -- Possession of schedule II narcotics (Class D felony) and possession of marijuana under 30 grams (misdemeanor). $2,000 surety bond paid.\n• Christopher Allman -- Possession of cocaine (Class B felony). Also jailed on warrant from Columbus, Ind., in reference to prior drug case. $20,000 surety bond unpaid as of Wednesday afternoon.\n• Bruce Scott Davis, student -- Possession of schedule I narcotic with intent to distribute (Class A felony), possession of marijuana over 30 grams with intent to distribute (Class B felony) and maintaining a common nuisance (Class D felony). $100,000 surety bond unpaid as of Wednesday afternoon.
(11/09/05 4:54am)
An IU bus driver arrested for operating a campus bus while intoxicated Saturday afternoon was fired Monday morning.\nCampus Bus Director Jim Hosler said the driver, Robyn C. Griffith, had never caused any problems before Saturday, when she was involved in an accident near College Mall and arrested after failing a dexterity test.\nPolice preliminarily charged Griffith with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, but are awaiting results of a blood test to determine what, if any, substances she was influenced by.\nHosler defended the firing, even though Griffith has not been found guilty of a crime.\n"That was just my decision," Hosler said. "We're not going to take any chances. The fact that she was arrested by police and taken for a drug test, that was enough. We decided we would terminate her since she's only an hourly driver."\nHosler said Griffith could be brought back if she is cleared of the charges.\nThe accident occurred at the intersection of Third Street and College Mall Road soon after Griffith's bus picked up riders at a nearby stop at 3:39 p.m. Saturday. According to the police report, the accident began when a car in the bus's blind spot honked its horn to make its presence known. The bus then got behind that vehicle and followed it too closely, according to the report. Witnesses told police Griffith then tried to pass the car after they both stopped at a light, sideswiping it as it did so.\nPolice responded and gave Griffith a dexterity test because she displayed "unusual behavior" marked by slow and slurred speech and had red, bloodshot eyes, the report said. Griffith failed that test and was transported to Bloomington Hospital where the blood test was administered.\nHosler said there are precautions to prevent incidents like these from ever occurring. Under the University's drug testing program, Hosler said potential employees face drug tests and, after being hired, employees are always subject to random testing. \nHosler had not spoken with Griffith since the accident, but said he believed the termination procedure was routine under University and federal policy, though it is the first time anything like this has happened at IU, he said.\n"We've never had one before," Hosler said. "But, if there was a violation of department, University or federal policy under the (Commercial Driver's License) policy, then we can terminate the employee."\nGriffith did not have a listed phone number and did not return an e-mail message by press time.
(11/08/05 5:34am)
About 25 members of the Old Paths Baptist Church protested Monday afternoon outside The Inner Chef, chanting anti-gay slogans, burning a gay pride flag and brandishing signs with messages like "Fags Die, God Laughs." \nBobb Easterbrook, a clerk at the store, was the only person working there at the time.\n"I was playing on the computer and somebody came in and said to look outside," Easterbrook said. "I was like, 'Ahh. Uh oh.' I'm going to hell, I guess."\nBloomington police officers responded to the scene but only to prevent it from getting out of hand, said Bloomington Police Department Sgt. Mick Williams. He said police did intervene, stopping protestors when they began burning the New Glory, a gay-pride variation of the American flag that features rainbow colors as the stripes. \nThe Old Paths group began the day with a protest behind Woodburn Hall. Though the group has been to IU many times in the past few years, Monday's demonstration was larger than usual, complete with children playing instruments and singing songs beside the sign-wielding adults.\nThe protestors moved downtown at about 2:15 p.m., where they began the demonstration outside The Inner Chef, 105 N. College Ave. Protestor Grady Styles said he joined in because "the gay community in Bloomington is so strong."\nJohn Lewis, pastor of the Old Paths church, said his group burned the flag there because it believes gay people will burn in hell.\n"The elite city of Bloomington harbors an elitist, faggot business called The Inner Chef which openly and unabashedly claim they are against God Almighty," Lewis said. "... We were there to cry against it. We burned the flag, and we will do it again."\nLewis said he plans to research the legality of burning the flag and intends to burn the flag legally the next time his group protests.\nThis protest came less than a month after two minors stole and burned a version of the New Glory that had been hanging outside The Inner Chef's storefront. The minors admitted to stealing the flag Oct. 8 because they thought it was "unpatriotic."\nStephen Chambers, co-owner of The Inner Chef, said Monday's protest was troubling, but he was confident Bloomington would be supportive of his business. \n"It's hard to get terribly upset about it," he said. "As a gay person, I've dealt with prejudice all my life. But it's kind of sad that there are people that have such a twisted view of what Christianity is about."\nAs for the flag-buring, Chambers had an optimistic view.\n"It's quite likely a gay business that got their money," he said. "So more power to them."\nTrina Hamlin, a Columbus, Ind. resident, was shopping next door to The Inner Chef when she saw the protestors. She decided to stop in, where she bought some cooking supplies and told Easterbrook what she thought of the demonstrators. \n"It's ridiculous," she said. "If you're going to judge somebody, you need to look in your own house before you look in someone else's house."\nThe protestors left promptly at 3:15 p.m., boarding a bus covered in large photographs of aborted fetuses. \nThough Lewis promised to return, Chambers said he is not worried, so long as the demonstration stays peaceful. \n"We see our message as a more positive one," Chambers said. "If they had been on our side of the street, I suggested we just take them coffee. There's no point in responding to evil with evil. Why lower yourself to that way of thinking"
(11/08/05 4:42am)
Forty-seven people face court dates and possible fines for illegal possession, public intoxication or both after being busted by the IU Police Department during the weekend. \nWhile that number might seem high for just three days, IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said it's fairly normal. Minger also cautioned that his department does not hunt people down, but it also can't ignore those who are breaking the law.\n"You might say that we aggressively enforce illegal activity," he said. "People think we're always trying to sneak around and catch people, but most generally with alcohol violations, people draw attention to themselves."\nThe weekend violations are somewhat inflated because many of them came in groups. In one case, five people were cited at once and in another an officer responded to a call of doors slamming and people screaming at Campus View apartments and ended up issuing nine misdemeanor alcohol citations.\n"They went to a noise complaint, and it turns out that there were a whole bunch of people sitting around who were drinking and didn't happen to be 21," Minger said. \nMinger said the officers would enjoy not dealing with the alcohol offenses at all. \n"If they could get through a night without that happening, I think the guys would be pretty happy," he said.
(11/03/05 8:31pm)
Two minors admitted to stealing and burning a gay pride American flag that had been displayed in front of a local business, according to a Bloomington Police report.\nThe flag, called the New Glory and modeled after the American flag but with rainbow stripes, had been displayed in front of the Inner Chef, 105 N. College Ave.\nThe minors, both age 17, told police they took it and burned it because they felt it was not right to have a flag in any color besides red, white and blue and that it was "unpatriotic."\nDavid Wade, owner and general manager of the Inner Chef, said he wished the minors had spoken to him before stealing it.\n"If they had a problem, they should have come into the store and had a conversation with me," Wade said. "Stealing property is not the way to solve the issue or to make comments known. That to me is just plain silly." \nPolice responded Saturday afternoon when a witness reported seeing two people take the 3-by-5-foot flag and drive off. The witness snapped a photo of the car's license plate with a cell phone camera, which police used to track down one of the suspect's homes.\nThere, police met with both suspects who admitted stealing the flag and taking it to a friend's house, where they set it on fire.\nBoth minors were preliminarily charged with theft. Although the crime was not listed as a hate crime Tuesday, the Indiana General Assembly definition of one includes committing an offense that damages or affects property because of sexual orientation of the injured person or group.\nWade, whose business opened eight weeks ago, said the flag attracted a lot of customers and positive comments before its removal. \n"There is such a great diversity in this town of shoppers and people in general and a lot of people want to come in because of the flag," he said. "We're one of the only openly visible gay-owned and operated store fronts in Bloomington."\nWade, who found out Tuesday the flag had been burned, said the incident hasn't shaken his resolve. He promised the flag would return.\n"Definitely," he said. "I'll order (another one) today"
(11/03/05 4:51am)
Senior Justin Crossley parked his 1994 Mitsubishi Galant in the Jordan Avenue Parking Garage late last month when it encountered mechanical problems. Just a day before he was arranging to move it, Crossley is now without a car at all thanks to an apparent early Wednesday morning car arson.\nIU Police Department officers responded at about 6 a.m. after receiving a call about a vehicle engulfed in flames on the top level of the garage. Though no one was injured and the car was isolated in the lot from other vehicles, Crossley arrived at the scene to find his car ruined. \n"When I got to (the garage), the fire was already put out, but the car was utterly destroyed," Crossley said. "It was melted down and unrecognizable."\nIUPD officers recovered a book of matches, a lighter and several bottles of flammable liquid accelerant. IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said he could not divulge what kinds of accelerants were used, but said they were readily available. \nMinger said it appears the suspect might have mixed the accelerants in a trash can lid, lit that on fire and then slid it beneath the car. That caused far more damage than if the car's exterior had been doused in gasoline and then lit, Minger said\n"If you sprayed it on the side of the car, you may do damage, but once it burns it off, it's gone," Minger said. "It wouldn't actually ignite. If you squirt a large amount of it beneath the car, it would keep burning like a grill."\nOfficers searched the area surrounding the Jordan Avenue garage and found the same accelerant materials, a lighter and another trash can lid outside of a black Nissan Xterra parked in the lot next to the IU Office of Admissions, 300 N. Jordan Ave. That car, however, had not been lit, Minger said. \nAs for Crossley, he said he's still arranging other transportation and doesn't know if his insurance will cover the damage.\n"It definitely dampens your spirits," he said. "I'm still sort of in shock. You don't really expect your car to be set on fire on campus in a parking garage. It's the last thing I thought would happen"
(11/02/05 5:16am)
Two men armed with a semi-automatic handgun robbed Long John Silver's Tuesday night and escaped with an undetermined amount of cash. \nBloomington Police officers responded to the call just after 10 p.m., but not before the men fled out the back of the restaurant, which is located at 3811 W. Third St.\nBPD Sgt. Joseph Sanders said the two men arrived at Long John Silver's just as the restaurant's two staff members were closing it for the night. Armed with the handgun and wearing bandanas to cover their faces, the two men forced one of the workers to empty the cash drawer. Both then left the restaurant through the back. From there, Sanders said police did not know whether they fled on foot or in a vehicle. \nThe suspects are described as two black men, both about six feet tall, and wearing dark clothing. \nPolice conducted a search of the area, including knocking on doors in an apartment complex directly behind the restaurant, but Sanders said no one reported seeing the men leave. Sanders said police will pull security footage from neighboring stores in hopes of catching the robbers on video.\nPolice did recover some money apparently dropped by the robbers in the parking lot behind the restaurant.\nEmployees at the Long John Silver's declined comment Tuesday night.
(10/31/05 4:21am)
Jon Schloesser spends a lot of time Googling the terms "president" and "2020." \nBut Schloesser isn't just fascinated with a presidential campaign more than a decade away. Presuming the next 15 years go according to his plan, the senior education major is staking out the competition. He announced his candidacy for the election -- the first he'll be eligible for -- this summer.\nSchloesser said his Google searches retrieve about four other Web sites from similar students around the country who have declared their candidacy for the 2020 election. He said the candidates communicate with each other, spurring one another to take stances on various issues.\n"It's exciting just to compare ideas with other people," Schloesser said. "It's in the back of our minds, like our own little election. If one person on the Web site makes a statement, how are you going to respond?"\nThe idea for Schloesser's candidacy started during the summer while he was taking an introductory sociology class and a political science class titled "The American Presidency." Schloesser combined a project for the two courses and surveyed small towns, finding that many of their residents had political beliefs different from the ones the towns were traditionally associated with. \nSchloesser turned his work into an online information center, disseminating his views on the issues he learned about. Before long, it turned into his candidacy for president and a 15-year-long campaign road.\n"I have an internal motivation for politics," Schloesser said. "It's not really frustration out of the political system right now, but it just seemed to click. I think somebody maybe mentioned it in passing and I thought it was a good idea and took it from there. It's kind of funny."\nSoon after, Schloesser developed a campaign strategy team to help him spread the word. It even features students from different schools to inform him about issues that affect their fields, including representatives from the business school and the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. \nSchloesser and his team even attended events like the Indiana State Fair and Homecoming festivities, handing out buttons and hoping to chat about the issues. \n"You should see their face when you say you're running for president in 2020 and you're probably half their age," Schloesser said. "They look at you like 'What are you doing?'"\nStill, Schloesser said some people will hear him out. He said older ladies in particular enjoy talking, though sometimes things got "touchy" when controversial topics come up.\nOne thing Schloesser won't talk about, however, is his second-in-command.\n"People always joke 'who's your vice president?" Schloesser said. "But we don't pick that until the primaries."\nSchloesser has a number of supporters who have discovered him by his Web site, www.jonschloesser.com. He said he has heard from professors from as far away as UCLA and even has a small "community base" of supporters in Washington state. \nBut the best part, Schloesser said, is getting the chance to learn and write about issues he thinks are important.\n"I'm real serious about some of the issues I've put down, because of course they're real pertinent to American society," Schloesser said. "It's kind of transformed on its own and a lot of people like the idea."\nThose issues range from commonly discussed fare like national health care and energy management to somewhat more bizarre ideas like offering Cuba and Mexico into the union as states or territories and dealing with terrorism by ignoring it.\nPolitical science professor Jeffrey Hart looked at Schloesser's Web site and said some of the issues make sense, while others don't.\n"He wanted to spend a lot of money and also cut taxes for poor people," Hart said. "That's commendable, but not fiscally responsible." \nHart said he liked Schloesser's idea of running for president on the Web, even if just as a learning experience.\n"You've got to give him credit for putting himself forward," Hart said. "At a minimum, he will learn a lot about the political system. And, I think it's a great way to use the Web. Let's face it - when Jon Stewart is generating some of the best news in broadcast, why shouldn't people run for president on the Web? That's what it's for, playing around with ideas and seeing what works."\nAfter graduating in the spring, Schloesser will student teach at a middle school in Cloverdale, Ind. Then, he might try flight school and is considering returning to school for his master's degree in engineering.\nSchloesser knows there's a lot of time before 2020 and a lot will change before then. But he still thinks there's a good chance his name will be on the ballot. \n"The Web site's only been up four or five months and with the amount of support I've gotten just so far, there's a chance that I could be (running)"
(10/25/05 4:37am)
When the IU Auditorium was officially dedicated in 1941, it stood in large part because then-president Herman B Wells wanted to provide IU students and faculty with an avenue to the arts.\nMore than 60 years later, the facility has fulfilled Wells' wish, offering space for students to develop their artistic skills as well as providing a venue that has attracted all sorts of acts, speakers and performers, ranging from top Broadway plays to Mikhael Gorbachev to Jerry Seinfeld. \n"Here, the students, members of the staff and citizens of the state can receive the inspiration of the best in lectures, music and drama," Wells said at the building's dedication. "This building ... has (a) function of paramount importance. It will augment substantially our facilities for training in the arts."\nDesigned by the New York architecture firm Eggers & Higgins, the Auditorium was built out of limestone quarried in southern Indiana in a Collegiate Gothic design. It officially opened March 22, 1941, after the University received a $495,000 grant from the U.S. Federal Energy Administration of Public Works toward its completion.\nThe carved figures that appear in the upper corners of the Auditorium's front facade might be one of the structure's mysteries. Doug Booher, director of the Auditorium, said he's not sure of the history behind them. \n"We've never been able to find out what they represent," Booher said. "We looked at that during the course of the renovation, and there's very little information out there."\nThe Auditorium turned into a contentious issue in the years before its construction, as donors decried the trustees for devoting more money and attention to another project: the Indiana Memorial Union.\nOne donor wrote an anonymous letter to the editor of a local paper, insisting that the Auditorium was more important than a large union. He wrote that IU was only building a large student union to keep up with Big Ten counterpart Michigan State.\n"Isn't living beyond one's means in an effort to keep up with one's neighbors one of the things we decry in private life?" the author wrote.\nThe Auditorium's foyer features Thomas Hart Benton's "Century of Progress" murals, which Wells and Ward G. Biddle, his vice president at the time, wanted to include as an homage to Indiana's history.\nThe Auditorium closed for two years for renovations in 1997. The facility now plays host to everything from concerts to weddings to lectures to University ceremonies, like Adam Herbert's presidential inauguration in spring 2004.
(10/19/05 4:17am)
When an armed man approached the glass window Monday evening at Cashland, 1710 W. Third St., teller Teresa Henry had a simple goal in mind: "Not to get shot," she said.\nHenry did that and also prevented the man from getting away with any money. She screamed and ducked behind the counter, and the man fled the scene moments later.\nPolice responded within minutes of the 6:42 p.m. call, but could not locate the suspect. Witnesses said he was driving a red vehicle in an unknown direction, according to the police report.\nThe suspect is described as a black man between 5-feet-11 and 6-feet tall and weighing between 160 and 170 pounds. He was wearing a blue jogging suit, sunglasses and a blue Colts ball cap at the time of the attempted robbery. \nHenry said the suspect first entered the store trying to get a MoneyGram cash transfer, but didn't have an ID. He left to get it, she said, but came back saying it was expired and asked instead about a loan. He then said he would get a paycheck stub and return.\nAbout 45 minutes later, Henry said, the suspect came back again while another customer was in the store. Henry said she had her back to the counter while she was working on paperwork and when she turned toward the suspect, he had a gun and a plastic bag. \nHenry backed away from the window and screamed. She said the suspect stood for a moment, then pointed the gun at the customer, said something to her and ran out the door. \nHenry said her co-workers were thankful that nothing bad happened.\n"They're all glad that I'm OK and taking care of getting someone to talk to me," she said.\nHenry said she'd never encountered anything like this before and it stayed with her more than she expected. \n"It affected me more than I thought it would," Henry said. "I'm not the type of person to get scared, but I know that I got really nauseous and stuff today when people were coming up to the door and when I'd have to turn my back to go to the file cabinet. It messed with my trust factor."\nStill, Henry, who has worked at Cashland for about a year, was back at work again Tuesday.\n"You can't just run away," she said.
(10/18/05 5:02am)
When Marcellus Neal died in a hit-and-run crash in 1939, his Chicago Tribune obituary was only 32 words long, beginning with his name, his age and his race. He was "colored," it reads in its first line.\nThough Neal's obituary demonstrates he might have died at a time when a black man's death did not justify attention, he lived a life that challenged such racial inequalities and ultimately changed them. Neal became the first black student to graduate from IU when he received a degree in mathematics in 1895. \nToday, Neal's accomplishments are honored along with Frances Marshall, who was the first black woman to graduate from IU in 1919. The Neal-Marshall Center is named for the students, as is the Neal-Marshall Alumni Club.\n"They were pioneers without question," said Clarence Boone Jr., director of the alumni club. "They persevered and, above all they encountered, they earned a degree from Indiana University. And in their respective fields, they went out and made some pretty long-lasting marks."\nNeal was born in Lebanon, Tenn., and later moved to Greenfield, Ind., with his family. It was there that he excelled in high school and earned a scholarship to attend IU. \nNeal enrolled and did well in classes, earning the highest possible grade in most of them. Despite his father's illness that nearly sidetracked his academic work during his senior year, Neal graduated in 1895.\nBoone said Neal and Marshall's graduations were especially difficult because each often faced the racial trappings of the era.\n"They pretty much had to have a \npersevering spirit," Boone said. "Strides were made, but they were very minimal."\nNeal spent 10 years traveling and teaching around the country before becoming the head of the science department at Washington High School in Dallas. He later retired from that job and moved to Chicago to work in civil service. He died there Nov. 6, 1939, from injuries sustained when he was hit by a car that fled the scene.\nMarshall graduated 24 years after Neal with a degree in English after coming to IU in 1915. Marshall earned a graduate degree in educational administration at the University of Chicago and Columbia University and worked as a registrar at three different universities. Marshall, who died in 1987, recalled her experience at IU in a February 1982 article in the Indiana Daily Student.\n"When I said I was going to college, people thought I was crazy," she said. "It was unusual for a woman to go to college, especially a black woman."\nIn that same article, Marshall described some of the racial tensions that permeated her time at IU. She said that, at graduation, a white woman next to her refused to walk by her side because she was black. She also talked about black students finally being allowed to use the pool, but only on Fridays. And, even then, she said it would often be drained just that day.\n"(IU President William Lowe Bryan) said 'You all ought to be glad to have the privilege of attending Indiana University, let alone swim in the swimming pool," Marshall said.\nMarshall retired to Hampton, Va., at 72 and died 15 years later.\nBoone said the legacies of both Neal and Marshall are remembered today.\n"Both were phenomenal, outstanding people," he said. "But it is their spirit and their fortitude that they are remembered for the most"
(10/17/05 4:59am)
Bloomington Police are investigating a rape reported in an apartment complex in the 2300 block of Winslow Court.\nBPD Officer Brian Werner responded to the assault, which occurred in the early morning Saturday.\nAccording to Werner's report, he responded at about 2:30 a.m. and was flagged down by the victim's mother when he arrived. \nWerner spoke with the victim, who told him that she was walking from her residence to her brother's residence, who lives in a different part of the complex.\nDuring the walk, the victim said she was attacked and pulled behind a building by a black male with short curly hair and a dark shirt. The victim told police the man then raped her.\nThe victim was transported to Bloomington Hospital for treatment.\nBPD officers searched the area, but failed to locate anything. BPD Sgt. Mick Williams said there were no witnesses to the attack.
(10/17/05 4:15am)
Bloomington resident Juan Aviles, 24, had a busy Saturday night. The Bloomington Police Department was already searching for him in connection with two separate robberies when he was taken into custody for public urination behind Papa John's Pizza on North Walnut Street. \n"That," said BPD Sgt. Mick Williams, "will get you every time."\nAviles faces preliminarily charges of two counts of robbery, two counts of intimidation, two counts of battery, one count of public intoxication and one count of public indecency.\nPolice initially responded to a male subject who said he had been robbed by two Hispanic males at about 11 p.m. Saturday night in the 300 block of East Seventh Street. The victim told police the suspect approached him and asked for $5. The victim said he didn't have any money when the suspect grabbed him, pushed him against a building and demanded the money so he could get into a bar. The man threatened that if the victim did not comply, he would go get his gun.\nAt that point, the victim's friend gave the suspect $5 and he fled northbound. Williams said the other man with the suspect was not involved, but stood by during the incident.\nPolice responded to another call shortly after the first from a man who said he had been attacked and robbed in the alley between Sixth and Seventh streets. The second victim told police the suspect punched him the face, took a bottle of water he was carrying, told him he had a gun and demanded money. \nThe victim then gave the suspect $6, but the suspect demanded more. When the victim showed the suspect that he did not have any more money, the suspect took off. \nAs BPD Officer Tracy Headley was investigating those two incidents, Officer Ethan Haley detained Aviles for public intoxication and indecency behind Papa John's. All three victims then positively identified Aviles.\nThe other man who is suspected of being with Aviles was not with him at the time of his arrest. Williams said it was not clear if he had committed any crime or if he would have been arrested.
(10/17/05 4:13am)
A 22-year-old Bloomington man was arrested Thursday night on drug charges after a traffic stop during an ongoing narcotics investigation. \nNehemiah Grimes, 22, told police he was dealing cocaine after a search of his apartment turned over about 5 grams of the substance, along with scales and four guns.\nGrimes and three others were arrested when Grimes' vehicle was pulled over Thursday night at the intersection of 10th Street and the 45/46 bypass. During the arrest, police found Grimes with marijuana and a large amount of cash.\nOfficers then served a search warrant for Grimes' residence in the 300 block of East 19th Street.\nGrimes was preliminarily charged with dealing cocaine, possession of cocaine and possession of marijuana. The dealing charge is a class B felony. \nAccording to the police report, Grimes admitted that he had been selling the drug.\nThree other passengers in the car were also charged. Stephanie Cruz, 20, was charged with maintaining a common nuisance and Jessica Stinson, 22, and Montel Caldwell, 23, both face preliminary charges of visiting a common nuisance.\nAll four were booked into Monroe County Jail Thursday night.\nBest Buy alerts police to possible child porn case\nBloomington Police seized a computer being worked on at Best Buy after a representative from the store alerted police it might contain child pornography.\nAccording to the police report, the Best Buy employee believed the material could be illegal based on the names of the files and a female pictured in the photographs.\nPolice took the computer as evidence at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, but as of Sunday afternoon, had not begun the investigation. BPD Sgt. Mick Williams said the investigation would likely take place later this week.\nWilliams said it is not uncommon for stores working on computers to inform the police if something suspicious or illegal turns up.\n"Usually, (the user) gets a virus from downloading images," he said. "Then, when they get it fixed, the service finds what the virus is attached to and say this something we need to report. We take it from there"
(10/14/05 5:57am)
When Aileen Scales' Franklin Hall office windows began shaking Thursday morning, she ventured to Dunn Meadow to see what was going on. \nWhat she found was a large National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter sitting square in the middle of the meadow's west end. \nThe chopper arrived for an IU ROTC display and recruitment event and was landed by Lt. Bryon Blohm, a graduate of IU's program. Passersby had the \nopportunity to hop into the chopper, sit in its passenger seats or even spend some time in the cockpit learning about its many complex features. \nOne of those features, the rescue hoist used to lift people off the ground without landing, attracted Scales' attention.\n"I'd love to do that," she said. "I think it'd be like being on a rollercoaster, maybe."\nThe Blackhawk flew in from Shelbyville, Ind., in only 15 minutes -- compared to an hour-and-a-half-long car ride -- at speeds exceeding 200 miles per hour. \nSgt. 1st Class Ty Barnett said the purpose of the event was to engage people and teach them about ROTC and the National Guard.\n"We are National Guardsmen, and this is part of our job," Barnett said. "We're explaining to everyone some of the different jobs we have and display the pride we have in what we do."\nBarnett said the Blackhawk can carry up to 11 passengers and a four-person crew and is built to be able to move a lot of people in a short amount of time and land in tight spaces. \nThose attributes came in handy in its last mission, helping with the hurricane relief along the Gulf Coast. Barnett was a part of that mission, which lasted through most of September. \nThough he said he witnessed a lot of destruction, Barnett said it was rewarding to see the guardsmen's work making a difference. \n"It's always rewarding just to have people come up and say 'thank you,'" he said. "That's a world of difference. We got to meet a lot of people there and they were all very appreciative that we dropped in and were giving them water and ice and food."\nHurricane relief efforts were a popular conversation topic at the event, though most people just stopped by to find out what a large helicopter was doing in the middle of campus.\nSophomore Brennan Golightly toured the Blackhawk Thursday afternoon. He said he figured it was for a military display, but he might have thought differently had he seen it land.\n"I don't know what I would have thought," Golightly said. "Seeing a helicopter landing here at first, I'd be like 'Uh,oh, someone's done something now. Someone's in trouble.'"\nCarlos Colon, who works with IU's instructional support services in Franklin Hall, said he came to see it because he's fascinated with aviation. Colon, who has flown planes before, was less enthusiastic about piloting the Blackhawk after spending several minutes in its cockpit getting a guided tour from a guardsmen.\n"If someone else is doing the flying, then yes," he said of going up for a spin. "Those things are really difficult to fly."\nSgt. 1st Class Dale Blubaugh, National Guard liaison for IU's ROTC, helped organize the helicopter landing. He said IU approved the event about two months ago after some planning.\n"We just said, 'we'll blow your leaves off for free,'" Blubaugh joked. "And we don't need an 'A' permit or anything."\nBlubaugh said the event was important to remind people of the importance of the National Guard for war-time and humanitarian purposes. \n"It's important for people to understand we're not just out here doing the war thing," he said. "We're trying to help where we're needed always"
(10/13/05 4:14am)
The Bloomington Police Department is seeking information from anyone who might have witnessed an attempted rape that occurred in late September in the 400 block of North Dunn Street.\nAccording to the police report, a 21-year old woman was walking home from a bar at 4 a.m. Sept. 25 in downtown Bloomington when a man approached her near the intersection of Kirkwood Avenue and Dunn Street. \nThe man tried to kiss the woman and then began following her until they reached the 400 block of North Dunn Street, when he asked to borrow her cell phone. The woman gave the man the cell phone and he told her he would not return it unless she had sex with him, according to the report. \nThe man then threatened to rape the woman before she was able to attract the attention of a passerby. At that point, the man fled with the woman's cell phone, according to the report. \nThe suspect is described as a white male between 5-foot-9 and 5-foot-11 with a fair complexion and brownish-red hair in his early 20s. At the time of the attempted rape the suspect was wearing a black sweatshirt and baggy jeans.\nThe suspect told the victim his name was Jason and lived near Eighth and Dunn streets.\nAnyone with information is asked to call BPD at 339-4477.
(10/12/05 5:06am)
Bloomington Police were dispatched to a gas station Monday night in reference to a man trying to set a gas nozzle on fire with a cigarette. Officer Brian Werner responded and arrested a 19-year-old man, who was then transported to Bloomington Hospital for a mental evaluation.\nPolice received the call at 11:13 p.m. of a problem at the Circle K at Grimes Lane and South Walnut Street. According to the police report, a witness said the man was removing a nozzle from the gas pump and holding a lit cigarette to the end of it. Before that, the witness said the man had been crawling around the inside of the convenience store on his hands and feet. He then left the store and allegedly attempted to get into people's cars before heading to the gas pump with his cigarette.\nWhen officers arrived at the scene, they found the man sitting cross-legged in the middle of Walnut Street and blocking traffic, according to the report. There, the man mumbled incoherently and refused to move.\nWhen officers began to take him into custody, the man started screaming and kicking and threatened to kill the officers, according to the report.
(10/07/05 4:55am)
Police are searching for a suspect who fled the scene of an accident after flipping his car while turning.\nA witness saw a driver turning from South Henderson Street onto East Miller Drive when the car's speed caused it to flip onto its roof, according to the police report. The witness said the driver, apparently unharmed, got out of the car and ran from the scene, according to the report.\nSanders said the police are still investigating.
(10/07/05 4:54am)
Two people reported robberies within 40 minutes of each other late Wednesday night according to Bloomington Police Department reports.\nThe incidents occurred in the vicinity of 100 North Jackson at 11:30 p.m., and near the intersection of Ninth Street and Indiana Avenue at 12:10 a.m., according to the reports. \nBoth victims told police they were robbed of cash after being approached by a pair of white men who claimed to have a handgun but never showed it. The victims described the assailants as two men in their early 20s, one about 5 feet 6 inches wearing a black shirt and the other about 6 feet tall and wearing a green shirt. Both were wearing some sort of hood or hat, according to the report. \nAfter the robberies both suspects fled on foot. \nBPD Sgt. Joseph Sanders said police are not treating the crimes as connected right now. \n"I wouldn't say they were related at this point," Sanders said. "But the information is similar enough that both will be assigned to the same investigator"
(10/03/05 4:38am)
A 40-year-old Bloomington resident was arrested Saturday evening after allegedly leaving the scene of an accident, according to the Bloomington Police Department report. \nDonald Hobbs, the alleged offender, probably couldn't have picked a worse car to hit.\nBPD Officer John Kovach responded to a call from a driver who said he was rear-ended by a vehicle at a traffic light on West Third Street. The victim, police said, turned out to be an off-duty Monroe County deputy sheriff who had a detailed description of what happened, the license plate and Hobbs' physical features.\nThe victim told police that after being hit, he and the other driver got out of their vehicles and surveyed the accident scene. According to the report, the other driver looked at the damage, said "it's not too bad" and drove off. The victim then tried to follow the car, but ultimately lost him heading south on Highway 37.\nWith that information, the sheriff's department apprehended Hobbs later that night on South Walnut Street, where he denied being in the accident at all. He was preliminarily charged by the sheriff's department with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and driving with a suspended license. BPD issued Hobbs a summons for leaving the scene of an accident.\nThe total damage for both cars involved was estimated between $1,000 and $2,500, according to the report.
