Sun, Jul 06, 2008

Tucson Region

Two teens arrested in UA window damage case

By Dale Quinn
arizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 12.12.2007
Two teens were arrested Monday night on suspicion that they vandalized the University of Arizona Architecture Building, causing more than $10,000 in damage, an official said.
Anthony Michael Huggins, of the 1600 block of South Andorra Place, and Matthew Jordan Hart O'Leary, of the 3400 block of South Fritz Place, were booked into Pima County jail on suspicion of felony criminal damage over $10,000, said Sgt. Eugene Mejia, a University of Arizona Police Department spokesman.
The architecture building has been vandalized about 10 times since the beginning of the school year, resulting in more than $108,000 in damage, Mejia said.
Vandals shot at the UA's new addition to the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at 1160 E. Speedway, cracking the glass windows over and over again in past months.
The two men, who are both 18, were arrested in connection with the most recent act of vandalism that occurred on Saturday, Mejia said. An investigation will determine whether they can be linked to the other incidents, he said.
Four windows were damaged Saturday night, and each window can cost more than $2,500 to repair, Mejia said.
A student in the architecture building about 10 p.m. Saturday heard objects hit the windows. When the student ran to the windows and looked out, the student saw a vehicle driving away, Mejia said. That student provided a description of a vehicle that was stopped several hours later by UAPD Cpl. Jeff Kamper.
Kamper interviewed the two teens in the car and saw a BB-type air pistol in plain view, Mejia said. The teens were questioned and released.
University police followed up their investigation Monday, interviewing the suspects again before booking them into jail, Mejia said.
● Contact reporter Dale Quinn at 629-9412 or dquinn@azstarnet.com.