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(11/30/16 12:52am)
A Mercer student earlier this month was reportedly robbed at gunpoint at the Garden Apartments.
According to crime reports obtained through Mercer Police, a student who was parked at the Garden Apartments on Nov. 12 was allegedly robbed at gunpoint by a black male as they were in the process of walking from their vehicle into the building.
No details, such as what was taken from the victim or whether an arrest has been made, are yet available, according to Mercer Director of Media Relations Kyle Sears, who said the investigation is ongoing.
A female student on Nov. 14 made a sexual battery report with Mercer Police regarding a February incident at Mercer, in which she claims she was sexually battered by her significant other while intoxicated and unable to consent.
Between Oct. 31 and Nov. 17, five vehicle break-ins, three thefts by taking and two burglaries were also reported. An automobile theft was also reported on Nov. 14 at the Winship Street parking lot, but the vehicle has since been recovered, Sears said.
The identities of all affected students were redacted by officials from the police reports.
Anyone with information related to any of the crimes mentioned above is asked to contact the Mercer Police Department at 478-301-4357.
(11/13/16 3:26am)
A male Mercer University student was arrested and suspended last month after a female student reported he was stalking her, according to reports obtained from Mercer Police.
The unnamed suspect was taken into custody on Oct. 22, after the victim contacted Mercer Police about receiving Instagram messages from the student, whom she previously reported to Dean of Students Douglas Pearson and Mercer Police in August for making unwanted contact with her and behaving inappropriately. The suspect was subsequently informed by university officials not to contact the female student, the report states.
He was brought to the Mercer Police Department on Oct. 22, where he was arrested and charged with stalking.
Both students’ names were redacted by officials from the report.
In other news, a female student, on Oct. 10, reported to Mercer Police that a male student was harassing her. The male student had been calling and texting the female student after she repeatedly instructed him not to contact her, according to the police report.
A vehicle break-in was also reported by a female student on Oct. 31 at Tattnall Square Center for the Arts. Twenty dollars’ cash was taken from the vehicle, which was believed to be unlocked at the time of the incident.
(11/04/16 8:33pm)
Mercer University is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights for possible violations of Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sexual discrimination in education.
The university allegedly mishandled reports of sexual harassment and stalking, according to the advocacy group End Rape on Campus.
In an email to WMAZ, a Department of Education spokesperson said the Mercer case involved “sexual harassment, grievance procedures and retaliation.”
End Rape on Campus (EROC) said in a release that it assisted in filing the Title IX complaint on May 22 that led to the investigation.
The EROC complaint also alleges that Mercer failed “to provide adequate resources, including mental health and academic resources to survivors of violence” as well as “information about the school’s policy and procedures,” according to its website.
The individual who filed the complaint received notice on Aug. 5 that the department would investigate the university, according to the EROC’s release.
Mercer spokesman Kyle Sears said the university was notified of the complaint in August and has responded to the Department of Education.
“The only Office for Civil Rights complaint that the University is aware of is an alleged stalking case involving two former graduate students who lived off campus. The University received notification of this complaint on August 5, 2016, and has provided a response to the complaint,” Sears said in a statement to The Cluster.
The Cluster has reached out to the EROC and the Office for Civil Rights for comment.
Please return to The Cluster for more updates.
(10/19/16 8:07pm)
Seven separate vehicle break-ins were reported on Mercer University’s main campus during the month of September, according to reports obtained from Mercer Police.
The incidents took place at various locations and parking areas across campus, including at the Lofts at Mercer Landing, Winship street parking and at the Plunkett parking lot, according to the reports. With the exception of two instances, in which an iPod Nano and a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses were extracted from vehicles, other stolen items included credit cards, small amounts of cash and loose change.
Nothing was reported missing from vehicles in two of the seven incidents. Multiple victims told police their vehicles may have been left unsecured prior to the break-ins.
A burglary involving juveniles, believed to be related to the vehicle break-ins at the Lofts at Mercer Landing, was also reported on Sept. 28, at which time three male children were observed hiding against the wall at the parking deck of the Lofts. The children had jumped over the wall and into the parking deck before two of the three were apprehended, according to the report. The third child ran from police and evaded arrest. Several vehicles in the area had been tampered with prior to the incident.
In other news, a theft by taking was reported at the physical plant on Sept. 22, after several tools and other miscellaneous articles were taken from a service cart parked outside the building used by Mercer Car Club. Additionally, on Sept. 24, a student reported a theft of lost or mislaid property when someone obtained her wallet and attempted to use two of her credit cards and her Mercer purchasing card.
Anyone with information related to any of the crimes mentioned above is asked to contact the Mercer Police Department at 478-301-4357.
(09/25/16 1:33am)
A Macon man recently was taken into custody for violating probation after being reported to Mercer Police for looking into vehicles parked in the Auxiliary Services parking lot on campus.
Damacio Quintaly Collins, 40, was taken into custody on Aug. 30 after Cpl. Alvin Bearden spotted Collins and another suspect eyeing the vehicles, according to Mercer Police reports.
The men claimed they were contractors waiting to be let in the gate, the report stated. Warrant checks were made and Collins was found to be wanted. He was subsequently transported to the Mercer Police Department and eventually to the Macon-Bibb County Sheriff’s Office for active violation of probation.
No vehicles were discovered to have been entered into or damaged, according to the report.
In other reports:
A burglary and entering automobile incident was reported at the Physical Plant at 1501 Mercer University Drive on Sept. 2. No other details were made available.
Three vehicle break-ins were reported at various locations on campus between Aug. 28 and Sept. 5, including at the Engineering Parking lot, the north baseball field parking lot and the Plunkett parking area. Nothing was confirmed stolen in any of the instances.
Names of all affected students were redacted from the documents.
Anyone with information related to any of the crimes mentioned above is asked to contact the Mercer Police Department at 478-301-4357.
(09/12/16 12:08am)
A Macon man was taken into custody last month for violating his probation after he was reported to Mercer Police for allegedly harassing female students at Tattnall Square Park.
John McDonald, 61, was on probation for aggravated assault, according to reports obtained from Mercer Police. He was arrested on Aug. 26 when officers responded to the scene of the alleged incident.
“Officers responded to the area of College Street to check out a report of a suspicious person harassing female students. Officers stopped a black male who was wearing a striped shirt and military camo shorts who was identified as John McDonald. A warrant/wants check was made on the subject and an active warrant for violation of probation came back. Mr. McDonald was taken into custody, transported and booked,” the report states.
No specific details were provided as to how McDonald allegedly harassed the students, though reports reflect he was armed with a knife or cutting tool.
“We have no further information on the arrest of the man who had an outstanding warrant,” said Mercer University Director of Media Relations Kyle Sears.
In other reports:
One day earlier, in the morning hours of Aug. 25, a student reported his vehicle stolen from the upper engineering parking lot on College Street. The vehicle was recovered hours after it was reported stolen.
On Aug. 22, a student reported her vehicle was entered while parked in the Honors House parking lot. Nothing appeared to have been taken from the vehicle.
Names of all affected students were redacted from the documents.
Anyone with information related to any of the crimes mentioned above is asked to contact the Mercer Police Department at 478-301-4357.
(08/28/16 9:00pm)
A Mercer student reported being the victim of simple battery this summer when an unknown suspect entered his dorm room and placed a pair of men’s underwear over his face before striking him.
The seemingly unusual crime occurred on June 24 at Sherwood Hall, according to reports provided by Mercer Police. The suspect fled the scene following the incident.
The victim’s identity was redacted from the report.
Three students additionally reported vehicle break-ins on campus over the course of June and July, with no apparent items of value taken.
The separate incidents, described in documents provided by Mercer Police, took place in the parking lots of two on-campus apartment complexes and the university’s main campus area between June 17 and July 28.
On June 17, a female student told police her vehicle was entered while parked at 1501 Mercer University Drive.
Another female student reported her vehicle being entered on June 29 at the Lofts on Montpelier Avenue. A male student told police his vehicle was entered at the Adams/Winship apartments on July 28.
No items of value were reported missing in any of the instances.
The identities of all affected students were redacted from the police reports.
Anyone with information related to any of the crimes mentioned above is asked to contact the Mercer Police Department at 478-301-4357.