Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Daily Email Edition

Get MN Daily NEWS delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday!

SUBSCRIBE NOW

By demonizing pleasure, we set ourselves up for unfulfilling sex lives.
Opinion: Let’s talk about sex
Published March 27, 2024

University police still seek bomb-threat caller

Pictures of the caller making the call from a gas station pay phone were released Dec. 13.

University police are still looking for the man who phoned in a Dec. 5 bomb threat that closed Willey Hall and are asking for the public’s help.

The department issued a crime alert Dec. 13 with pictures of the man suspected of making the phone call from the Shell gas station at 2817 Riverside Ave. in Minneapolis.

Surveillance video cameras in the area showed an 18- to 25-year-old white male ride a bike to the pay phone and place the call at 10:27 a.m.

The caller didn’t have much to say to Minneapolis police dispatch and was on the phone for less than a minute.

“There’s a bomb at the ‘U of M’ West Bank, Willey Hall,” he said, according to the 911 transcript.

The suspect was wearing a winter jacket with red, white and dark blue or black colors in equal horizontal layers, according to the alert.

He was also wearing light- colored blue jeans, a dark-colored stocking hat and was carrying a dark-colored backpack.

University Deputy Police Chief Steve Johnson said officer James Nystrom, the case’s investigator, is still looking for leads in the case.

Making a bomb threat is considered a terroristic threat under Minnesota law. It’s a felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Thieves foiled by Coffman bookstore security

Thieves looking to cash in on stolen books from the Coffman Union Bookstore had no such luck over winter break.

Thieves attempting to nab nearly $1,000 in textbooks were detained by the bookstore’s security on Dec. 31, Jan. 3 and Jan 9. Two of the three thieves were given tickets for theft.

Bookstore security supervisor Ryan Kirker said the third thief wasn’t prosecuted because his brother was able to pay for the seven books he attempted to steal – priced at $650.

For others thinking about stealing items from the bookstore, Kirker has a reminder.

“About 95 percent of the time we don’t let them leave without a trespassing order,” he said. “We typically make it a year.”

Kirker said the bookstore typically catches one person attempting to steal a textbook every two weeks, but at the beginning and the end of the semester when the bookstore is selling and buying back books, that number usually rises to about one per day.

Thieves stealing less than $500 in property face a maximum penalty of 90 days in prison and a $1,000 fine if convicted.

For property worth $500 to $1,000, those maximums are increased to one year in prison and a $3,000 fine.

Senator’s staffer arrested by UMPD on DWI charges

A staff assistant and driver for Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., was pulled over by University police Sunday for speeding and was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.

Adam Doyle, 24, a University alumnus, was stopped by police on Interstate 35 after crossing a fog line, according to the police report.

He was arrested and taken to the Hennepin County Jail after a breath test revealed he had a 0.23 percent blood alcohol content. The state’s legal limit for of-age drivers is 0.08.

He was released from custody after posting $12,000 bail Sunday evening, according to the sheriff’s jail records.

University police sent the case to the Minneapolis City Attorney’s Office, which will decide if charges will be brought.

Doyle’s former fiancée, Melissa Speich, died as a result of injuries sustained when an allegedly drunk driver ran a red light near the Metrodome and hit her car, the Daily reported in April 2007. Speich was a University graduate student at the time.

Leave a Comment

Accessibility Toolbar

Comments (0)

All The Minnesota Daily Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *