POLICE REPORTS: Green Beer Day edition

Green Beer Day problems were fewer than most years for police March 19 but the day was not event-free.

Pair charged after fleeing

One Green Beer Day incident involved two underage males who were not Miami students but who were somehow involved in an assault that the alleged victim denied ever took place.

Police were called to the front of 45 East on a report of an assault at 11:03 p.m. that evening. The man identified as the victim in the assault, however, was walking away from the scene, going west on High Street with another man. Officers followed and both continued to walk away, changing to a jog. An officer caught up to the first man, the one identified as the victim in the assault, while another officer pursued the second man.

The first man was questioned about the incident and the officer noticed an odor of an alcoholic beverage about his person. He told police he had not been assaulted and said he did not have identification with him but admitted he had a license and Miami University ID belonging to someone else in his wallet. He was found to be 18 years old and said he used that identification to get into a bar.

Because he was bleeding, the Oxford Life Squad was called and took him to McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital. He continued to deny being assaulted and was charged with offenses involving underage persons and certain acts prohibited.

Meanwhile, the other officer had caught up with the second man after a chase through the alley, during which the shirtless man was putting on his red sweatshirt. He was known to the officer who called to him by name, but he continued to flee and he was finally captured on Walnut Street.

He was asked if he had any needles on him and he vehemently denied having any. Nevertheless, he was found to have a hypodermic syringe in his pocket. The 19-year-old man was taken to the police station and in the questioning process, a medical form was completed regarding the possession of the needle. He was not found to have any medical issue that would justify a needle and it was entered into evidence.

He told the officer he did not know the needle was in the pocket because the pants he was wearing belonged to someone else, but the officer pointed out his wallet was in a pocket.

He was charged with offenses involving underage persons, possession of drug abuse instruments and obstructing official business. The syringe was sent to the lab for analysis with other possible charges pending those results.

Day went wrong way for UK student

A car turned onto University Avenue going the wrong way on a one-way street into the path of a police cruiser at 8:46 a.m. March 19. The officer spoke with the driver, whose speech was slow to respond and not making eye contact.

The driver’s eyes were glassy and he was asked if he had been drinking, to which he replied, “Not much.” A passenger in the rear seat seemed heavily intoxicated to the officer and he pulled the driver aside to speak to him.

He said the other man was too intoxicated to drive, so he was driving. He told the officer he was a student from the University of Kentucky visiting for Green Beer Day. He said he had “one shot” to drink. He was 19 years old. Field tests showed clues of intoxication. He was arrested and the vehicle impounded. A breath test produced a reading of .123.

In the process of impounding the vehicle, the man’s wallet was found in the car and it was brought to the police station. A fake South Carolina driver’s license was found in it to which the man told the officer it could be thrown in the trash, adding, “I’m OK with that.” Instead, it was taken into evidence.

He was charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, offenses involving underage persons and certain acts prohibited as well as a traffic offense of driving the wrong way on a one-way street.

Stereo heard two blocks away

Officers on patrol at 6 a.m. March 19, Green Beer Day, heard loud music while on foot patrol and walked toward the sound, approximately two blocks away from their original location. They found a party going on in the back yard of a house in the 200 block of South Main Street.

The report noted that a large number of people were in the yard and when they approached, many of them dropped cups they were holding. The report also noted they detected an odor of marijuana coming from the house.

A man came forward and said he lived there and was issued a citation for the noise violation, with no one else being charged.

Man was sleeping in hotel hallway

Police were called to the Elms Hotel at 12:05 a.m. March 20 on a report of a man sleeping in the hallway on the third floor of the hotel.

He had been brought down to the lobby by the time the officer arrived and was seated on a couch. He was wearing a green shirt and appeared drowsy, the report noted. He had in his possession a valid Colorado driver’s license showing him to be under the legal drinking age of 21 and also a fake Illinois license making him of legal age.

He said he had been drinking in Three Trees in the hotel but could not explain his sleeping in the hallway of the hotel. It was confirmed he was a Miami student.

He was charged with offenses involving underage persons and certain acts prohibited and given a ride to his off-campus residence on East Withrow Street.

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