The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, February 23, 2000, Page 10, Image 10

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Dirty trick played at Abel
By Michelle Starr, .
Staff writer
The culprit who left a smelly sur
prise in an Abel Residence Hall eleva
tor admitted to the act Thursday.
The hunt for the vandal who put
human feces in an elevator Feb. 46
came to an end when Benjamin
Braiggs, a 20-year-old freshman from
Columbus, was caught in the act on
videotape from a surveillance camera
in tli&elevator.
“It was a stupid thing to do, and I
apologize to the custodians and stu
dents here in Abel,” Braiggs said. “It
was a stupid thing to do.”
Braiggs said he and a group of
about 15 men on the ninth floor decid
ed around 2 or 3 a.m. that it would be a
good prank.
The feces, found on the floor of the
men’s bathroom, was scooped up with
a pizza box and dumped into the eleva
tor, Braiggs said.
Abel Residence Hall staff viewed
the surveillance tape, provided by the
maintenance supervisor, which
showed a man with dark hair dumping
the feces, said University of Nebraska
Lincoln Police Sgt. Mylo Bushing.
Deb Mullen, Abel Residence Hall
complex program director, said the res
idence hall’s staff viewed the tape and
made a positive identification of
Braiggs.
Bushing said during questioning,
Braiggs admitted to a university police
officer that he put the feces in the ele
vator. But Braiggs denied any connec
tion to feces found in the showers on
the same floor where he lives.
Mullen said an investigation into
feces found in the showers is ongoing.
The search for the vandal also was
aided by information provided by stu
dents and staff who replied to Mullen
within hours of the distribution of a
Thursday morning letter to all Abel
residents’ mailboxes, Mullen said.
The letter informed students about
someone leaving feces in the Abel ele
vator and in the showers in Abel’s
ninth-floor men’s restroom, Mullen
said.
The letter also offered a $1,000
reward for information leading to an
arrest anxhproseeution of the vandal,
Mullen said.
The feces found in the elevator was
similar to a problem a few years ago,
when someone defecated in the stair
wells. Mullen said offering a reward
was beneficial in that investigation, so
she thought it would help this time.
It was also important to inform stu
dents about an incident that poses a
health and safety risk, such as feces in
die elevator and showers, Mullen said.
She said she could not comment
about the reward and would not say if it
had been awarded to anyone.
She also could not say if discipli
•• It was a stupid
thing to do.”
Benjamin Braiggs
UNL freshman
nary action by the residence hall staff
will be taken against Braiggs because it
would be confidential.
Braiggs said the talk around the
residence hall was that he might be
kicked out of the hall.
If die rumor is true, Braiggs might
not be able to afford attending the uni
versity because he has nowhere to stay
and didn’t think he would be refunded
for this semester’s room and board, he
said.
“It’s going to end up costing about
$4,000,” Braiggs said. “I’m probably
going to end up going home if I get
kicked out.”
Braiggs has not given the names of j
the other men involved in the prank, j
but he is planning to talk to Mullen to I
see if it would help his situation and !
possibly decrease die punishment, he
said. >
He is expecting a decision on his
punishment within about a week, he
said.'
Braiggs was cited by the university i
police for criminal mischief, Bushing
said.
Three out of four mothers agree:
the A-Team needs your vote
-
—
Mrs. Schafer
Mrs. Peterson*
j
i
Mrs. “Webber*
Mrs. Hansen
i——■■■ .»
■ - • .
V r Tjf ' 4%iarY „ISif
“I support the A-Team because of their
'plan to establish anpn-line voting process
for student elections. I pity the fool that
doesn’t vote A-Team on March 1.”
v / l -Mrs. Schafer
f" "
“If I were student, I would vote A-Team
because they are the only party which sup
ports the abolition of credit-card solicitation
on campus. jCredit-card debt is a serious
problem and the other parties have no plan
to deal with it.” 4
-Mrs. Peterson
“I think the A-Team is the only party seri
ously committed to involving new students
in ASUN. Every year, the established par
ties prattle on about involving more people,
but every year they fail and they don’t de
serve another chance.”
-Mrs. Webber
“Maybe I shouldn’t have let him eat so much
dog food as a baby or perhaps it was some
other factor in his early development, but for
some reason my boy’s brain just doesn’t work
right. Personally, I think the A-Team needs
your vote like I need a hole in my head.”
-Mrs. Hansen
t
Joel Schafer
(for president)
Riley Peterson ,
(for vice-president)
Joel Webber
(for second v.p.)
Hal Hansen
campaign manager
* Asterisk indicates endorsers recieving financial compensation for their statements.
This is a paid political advertisement of the A-Team Party, Christina Reisselman, Treasurer
ASUN Student Government Elections, March 1, 2000. _
Woman accuses stepfather of
sexual assault
Police responded to a call at about 1
a.m. Tuesday from a 2^year-oldi
woman who had reportedly been sexu
ally assaulted by her stepfather.
The woman was riding home with
her stepfather, a 39-year-old from
Lincoln, when he pulled the car over at
Overland Station, 2805 NW 48th St.,
Lincoln Police Ofc. Katherine Finnell
said.
Once stopped, die man attempted to
remove her clothes, Finnell said. The
woman resisted, and he reportedly
punched her in the face, giving her a
bloody nose and a swollen eye.
He penetrated the woman with his
fingers before she escaped from the car
and called die police, Finnell said.
Police arrived at Overland Station
before the man left. The police report
said blood was found on his fingers and
on his pants, but he denied any physical
or sexual contact with die woman.
He was arrested on counts of
attempted first-degree sexual assault
and driving under suspension, Finnell
said. His bond is set at $50,000, and he
is scheduled to appear in court today.
Man arrested on drug charges
The Lincoln Police Narcotics Unit
arrested Richard Deollos, 40, on a war
rant Monday night.
Officers contacted Deollos at his
residence, 1428 Huntington St., Apt. 4,
at 8 pm, Finnellmjd.
Upon his arrest, Deollos put up a
fight with the officers. Police then
searched him and found 4.025 grams of
methamphetamine.
Deollos was charged with resisting
arrest, possession of a controlled sub
stance and possession with intent to
deliver.
Man arrested for exposure in
park
Police arrested a man Monday who
previously was involved in a Feb. 15
indecent exposure incident
A mother and her daughter were out
for a walk in Bear Park, 2400 Park
Blvd., on Feb. 15 when they saw a man
sitting naked in a van masturbating,
Finnell said.
The two women got into their car
and drove around to the front of die van
to record its license plate number and
notify police, Finnell said.
Police identified the van Monday
and arrested Robot K. Johnson, 46, of
Omaha, for indecent exposure, Finnell
said.
Compiled by staff writer Derek
Lippincott