On Monday, Sept. 7th, a man was arrested for public intoxication and criminal trespass in the University Place Condominiums after he followed a female student and entered a condo uninvited.
According to an email from the Campus Securities Office, a student called the University of Dallas Police Department (UDPD) to report that someone had trespassed into the student’s apartment. Although the condos and the Old Mill complex are not under the jurisdiction of UDPD, the officer on duty responded to the call and contacted Irving Police, who arrested the suspect for public intoxication.
The suspect, Christopher Gameuz, had stopped in PDK that night. Raj Luthra, who owns the gas station and convenience shop, asked him to leave the establishment.
“The guy came up [to PDK] asking for water. He was just sitting and staring at everybody,” Luthra said. “A student came in and [the suspect] was messing with him, so I had to kick him out.”
Luthra said that later on Monday night he saw the same man talking to Meg McDonough, a senior physics major, which prompted him to call UDPD.
“Later we saw him talking to Meg outside of Anselm so we called UDPD to let them know. By the time the police came, she was walking away and he was following her. Then [the suspect] went into the condos. Then somebody else called the police and they got [the suspect],” said Luthra.
McDonough said that the suspect approached her near Anselm Hall.
“I asked if he needed anything, and I didn’t get a clear answer. I felt very unsettled by the conversation. Eventually, I told him I was going to head back, and started walking briskly to Old Mill. I heard his footsteps, and realized he was trailing me.”
After McDonough realized that the man was following her, she walked quickly through the condos, lest the man tried to apprehend her at her own residence. It was at that time that the man entered a condo uninvited, although it was not the one that Meg entered.
“I decided to head to a friend’s place in the condos. He trailed me the whole way. I weaved into the condos and around a corner to lose him and darted into a friend’s apartment. He must have lost me because he entered a condo a few doors down from the one I had entered,” said McDonough.
Caleb Skinner, a resident of the University Place condos, said, “The cops told us that [the suspect] had gotten an uber to campus and refused to get out. The uber driver had to call the cops and remove him from the car. He then started following Meg to her apartment in the Mill, but she felt unsafe and so she went to the condos to find a friend’s condo. At some point or another he ended up walking into our condo.”
The suspect was inebriated at the time but was taken into custody by the Irving Police Department.
“My roommates and I were talking to him [when he walked in our condo], asking him who he is and where he goes to school. We tried to get a name or an ID from him and he pulled out a criminal trespassing paper. He then pulled out a screwdriver, a pocket knife, and a lighter,” said Skinner.
Skinner said that the neighboring condos all have female residents, he was relieved that the police were contacted quickly and no one was harmed.
Police Chief Russell Greene said that the reason the UD police investigated the instance was a student’s report of criminal trespassing, but the arrest was made by Irving PD on the grounds of public intoxication.
As many students are aware, instances of trespassing on the University of Dallas campus are not out of the ordinary. There have been instances of non-residents entering on-campus residence halls in past years.
“We have seen some homeless activity near the rugby pitch this summer,” said Greene. “We offer them services, but they can’t be on private property. We actually got a note sent to President Hibbs saying how nicely we were treating the homeless [that came on campus]. Normally we give them a ride to the DART station and money for food.”
Greene noted that there were significant upgrades made to campus in order to maintain safety.
“As of this summer, every building on campus is now capable of being locked. There are new doors on the Mall-side of Haggerty [Science Center] and card-swipes on the doors of Braniff. Everybody who has a student ID card has access to these buildings after-hours. We want students to have the access they need, but must balance access and security,” said Greene.
Greene also urged students to contact the University of Dallas Police Department if they have any concerns.
“The question people always ask is whether or not something is important. We’ll decide that,” said Greene. “If in doubt, call us.”
