Patrol car set on fire
Published April 29, 2008
Two MU students were arrested early Friday morning after an MU Police Department patrol car was set on fire in the Virginia Avenue Garage near MUPD’s office, according to a news release.
MUPD Capt. Scott Richardson said an MUPD officer discovered the car around 4:40 a.m. Friday.
Kiran D. Bhattacharyya, 19, and Kyle M. McClary, 19, were arrested Friday morning after officers apprehended them at the construction site for a new parking garage at the corner of Hospital and Monk Drives, the news release stated.
According to a news release, the two were arrested on suspicion of tampering in the first degree, knowingly burning, and resisting or interfering with arrest — all felonies. They also were arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor trespassing in the first degree and misdemeanor minor in possession of alcohol by consumption, the release stated. Additionally, Bhattacharyya was arrested on suspicion of possession of false identification, a misdemeanor charge, the release stated.
Richardson said officers identified the suspects and chased them to the nearby construction site, where officers lost sight of them. Richardson said MUPD received assistance from the Boone County Sheriff’s Department and the Columbia Police Department, who brought a canine unit to aid in the search. Richardson said the suspects came out of hiding when officers announced over a PA system that a canine unit was present and would be released.
According to the Boone County Jail, McClary, a freshman biology major, was released from the Boone County Jail at 6:27 p.m. Friday on a $30,000 bond. Bhattacharyya, a visiting scholar with the Life Sciences Center, was released later that evening at 8:25 p.m., also on a $30,000 bond.
MU spokesman Christian Basi said the students’ cases have been referred to the Office of Judicial Services to determine whether they violated the university’s Code of Conduct. Basi said he could not discuss the cases or sanctions the two might specifically receive, however, citing Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act laws that prohibit university employees from discussing students’ individual files.
“In situations where students are found guilty of violating the conduct code, sanctions can range from a verbal reprimand to expulsion,” he said.
Richardson said flames damaged the patrol car’s front right side, including the entire front right tire and the hood of the car. He said MUPD was awaiting an estimate from its insurance agency to determine the cost of the damages.
Richardson said he could not remember an instance of a patrol car being set on fire in the about 15 years he’s been with the department. He said the last case of a car being set on fire was January, 2005, when a car containing the body of MU professor Jeong Im was discovered on fire in the Maryland Avenue Garage. Im died of multiple stab wounds to the chest; his case remains unsolved.