by Jacob Fuhrer |
Alexander O’Brien, a 20-year-old-man who is not a member of the UP community, was escorted off campus Wednesday evening after he allegedly put something in a student’s drink at the Pilot House. He was arrested in the early hours of Thursday morning by Portland Police after an unrelated incident of trespassing.
Monique Martin, a senior nursing major, was getting her food from the counter in the Pilot House around 5 p.m. on Wednesday and briefly left her water glass unattended. When she returned, another student told her O’Brien had put an unknown liquid in her glass.
“I looked at my water and it was obviously foggy, very opaque in color,” Martin said. “So I confronted the gentleman ... and he denied it.”
As the two exchanged words, the manager of the Pilot House alerted Public Safety.
Soon thereafter, Public Safety confronted O’Brien and cited him for trespassing. Later, Portland Police escorted him off campus.
According to Director of Public Safety Gerald Gregg, O’Brien was cited by the University for trespassing.
“I never felt threatened at all,” Martin said. “He was very nonchalant in conversation ... it was kind of awkward.”
According to Gregg, O’Brien approached a table of four other women, trying to introduce himself and begin a conversation before tainting Martin’s drink. Gregg says if O’Brien returns and is cited again, he can be arrested and charged.
“A lot of homeless people have mental health issues,” Gregg said. “That’s what this sounds like.”
Martin is grateful to the student who warned her about her drink.
“Him acting promptly potentially prevented my night from being a lot worse,” Martin said.
Jacob Fuhrer is a reporter for The Beacon. He can be reached at fuhrer17@up.edu or on Twitter @jacobfuhrer.
