Wednesday, April 18

At approximately 3:30 p.m., an individual called the University of Massachusetts Police Department with a report of a breaking and entering/burglary in Baker Hall. The male victim had left his room briefly to use the bathroom and left his door unlocked. When he returned his laptop was missing.

About 85 minutes later, a female came to the police station and claimed that her laptop had been stolen the day before while she was rehearsing in the Fine Arts Center.

UMPD Interim Police Chief Patrick Archbald estimated that there have been about eight laptop thefts in the past month and said that the increase of laptop thefts this semester has been “concerning.” Plainclothes officers will continue to survey areas where there have been recent laptop thefts.

At approximately 5:26 p.m., a male reported an accident in Lot 11. The reporting party said as he was traveling west through the parking lot, a grey 2001 Volvo suddenly began backing up at a high speed along a row of cars that was perpendicular to the reporting party, who was driving a Toyota Camry. The suspect was traveling at a great enough speed so that neither party had enough time to react, resulting in an accident.

The Volvo rammed his rear bumper into the front side panel on the passenger side of the Camry and caused significant damage. The driver of the Volvo then gave the reporting party his email address and registration number, but refused to give his name and number. When a police officer arrived on the scene, the suspect had left, but UMPD were able to identify him, and when they contacted him, he said that he hadn’t intended on contacting the police about the incident, and admitted that he did not give his name and number to the reporting party. The suspect has received a summons to court, with the potential charge of leaving the scene of an accident.

Thursday, April 19

At around 7:15 p.m., Regina M. Patell, 35, of Manchester, Conn., was arrested on charges of possession of a Class B drug, and domestic assault and battery. Two officers were in Lot 25 when one observed a Grey 2012 Chevrolet Cruze traveling south on Governors Drive at a high rate of speed. The vehicle then nearly struck another car that was stopped at red light, which caused the officer to point out the incident to the other. As the vehicle was waiting at the light, the female passenger was seen punching and hitting the male driver repeatedly; the male, later identified as Bryan Lamont, 38, of Ludlow, did not fight back but was shouting out her.

The vehicle then pulled into the parking lot and asked one of the posted officers the location of the Mullins Center. The officer began to question the two parties about the fight that was witnessed, and soon found out that they were under the influence of alcohol, as well as under the influence of a class B drug, later identified as ecstasy. Ecstasy pills were found on the floor of the vehicle, and the parties stated that they intended to take the pills at the Avicii concert in the Mullins Center. The two were arrested; Lamont on charges of possession of a class B drug and operating under the influence of alcohol, and Patell on the previously mentioned charges.

At about 9:30 p.m., Allison M. Brown, 18, of Wilton, Maine was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and assault and battery on a police officer. A K-9 officer in the vicinity of the Mullins Center observed Brown being escorted away from the venue by a security supervisor who reportedly would not let the female enter the building because allegedly she was intoxicated. The girl refused to leave, and became “agitated and belligerent,” according to the responding officer. She was asked to leave several times before the officer stepped in and asked her to leave as well. Her behavior then became escalated and she began screaming and, according to the officer, her speech was slurred and her eyes were bloodshot. She became combative and the officer placed her under arrest while she resisted and screamed.

When she was placed into a transport vehicle, she rode in a transport van and had two officers sitting with her. She kicked one of the officers several times in the leg and lower torso, breaking his pepper spray canister in the process. For the remainder of the ride, she was restrained by police officers.

“Sometimes, if we believe the suspect could pose a threat to him- or herself, we place them in the transport van so that there are other officers sitting with them,” said Archbald about the incident.

Archbald added that if a suspect is extremely confrontational, officers will place him or her in the van because in the cruiser, they could possibly kick out the windows and damage the police vehicle. In the transport van, the suspect sits in a bulletproof metal cage with several officers.

Friday, April 20

At approximately 8:10 p.m., Eric Michael Meyer, a 19-year-old biochemistry and molecular biology major from Newburyport, was arrested on a charge of a minor in possession of alcohol and possession of a false liquor ID card/license. An officer observed Meyer near the Southwest Circle removing alcoholic beverages from an open trunk of a vehicle and was placing the containers into a backpack. The responding officer believed him to be underage and he approached him. Upon searching Meyer, the officer found an identification card that gave a false age. In the backpack there was a 24-pack of Bud Light, a 30-pack of Bud Light, a 40 ounce bottle of Bud Light, a 1.75 liter bottle of Pink Lemonade Rubinoff, and two 720 milliliter bottles of MD 20/20 liquor. The officer confiscated the liquor and arrested Meyer.

Saturday, April 21

At approximately 12:31 a.m., Matthew T. Bianchi, a 21-year-old legal studies major from Pittsfield, was arrested on charges of operating under the influence of alcohol, possession of an open container, and failure to dim headlights.

An officer observed a white Mazda traveling south on North Pleasant Street that had its high beams on, despite having passed several oncoming vehicles. The officer began to follow the vehicle, which crossed over the double yellow line a few times. The officer then pulled over the vehicle driven by Bianchi, and when he spoke with him, his speech was slurred and his eyes were glassy and bloodshot. There was also a moderate odor of alcohol on his breath. While conducting field sobriety tests, the officer found a bottle of Mr. Boston vodka in Bianchi’s back pocket. Bianchi failed the field sobriety tests, and had a blood alcohol content level of 0.18, more than twice the legal limit.

At approximately 1:23 a.m., Aleksey Bratnichenko, 26, of Southampton, was arrested on charges of operating under the influence of alcohol, marked lanes violation and equipment violation. An officer observed a green Acura traveling south on North Pleasant Street and noticed that the rear passenger-side break light on the vehicle was not working. He followed the vehicle, which was moving in and out of the marked lane, and pulled it over near the First Baptist Church. When he approached Bratnichenko, he noticed a strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle, and noted that the he had glassy, bloodshot eyes and had slurred speech. Bratnichenko was asked to step from the vehicle to perform sobriety tests, which he could not complete, and was given a breathalyzer test which measured to a BAC level of .08.

Monday, April 23

At about 12:35 a.m., a custodian working in the Goodell Building reported a breaking and entering/burglary. The custodian had found a window open on the fourth floor and reported that the screen of the window had been cut open with a knife. When police arrived on scene, they found a knife that had been left behind in the room, and also found blood on the screen. They searched the area and found nothing else to be suspicious at the time.

At about 9:55 that same day, an employee called the police and said that a 10 ft. by 10 ft. window had been broken on the door of an office on the sixth floor. The only object missing from the office was a set of keys.

The knife and blood samples were taken from the scene and the UMPD is currently testing the evidence.

Taylor Snow can be reached at [email protected].