A Slippery Rock University student has been charged with theft, receiving of stolen property and criminal mischief after being caught stealing the metal letter “U” from the Smith Student Center (SSC) wall.
After patrolling, university police officers noticed letters missing from the SSC wall on the afternoon of Oct. 24. Ethan Flack, 19, of Chambersburg was seen on security footage walking with two other students around 2 a.m. holding the “U” in his hands and then placing it in his backpack. Flack, along with the two students he was with, then proceeded to walk back to his dorm in Building B.
That same day, when officers went to speak with Flack at his dorm, there was no answer and when officers tried to call him, there was still no answer. A few hours later, the officer received a voicemail from Flack stating he had been asleep when the officers were previously there but the “U” was still in his room. He stated he had been hanging on the sign while walking back to his dorm and ended up pulling it off of the wall and wanted to apologize.
Three hours after receiving the voicemail, officers responded to Flack’s dorm after a CA reported the smell of marijuana coming from inside. The officers were able to then retrieve the “U” and brought it back to the university police station for safekeeping.
Flack is currently being cited for $173 which is the cost of returning the letter onto the wall of the SSC and will face no further charges.
