by Tiffany
King
Staff Writer
An Appalachian State University freshman faces 10 counts
of possession of stolen property after University police
found license plates reported stolen on Nov. 6, 2003 in a
residence hall on campus, University Police Chief Gunther
E. Doerr said.
“We received a ‘Crimestoppers’ tip that
said we would find drugs in the room. We contacted the residence
director and after looking in the room they allowed us to
search it. Although we found no drugs, we did find the stolen
plates on a bookshelf,” Doerr said.
University Police Assistant Investigator Lt. Phil Minton
said the missing plates were found in a freshman male’s
room in Frank Residence Hall.
The license plates were from several different states, including
Vermont, Minnesota, Virginia, Alabama, North Carolina, South
Carolina, New Jersey, Indiana, Florida and Tennessee. They
were originally stolen from Greenwood, South and State Farm
lots, all university student parking.
“Most of the missing plates were recovered from the
suspect’s dorm room. The suspect has been charged with
10 counts of possession of stolen property.
"One of the plates was from the Boone jurisdiction;
there were also three or four from other jurisdictions. There
are still eight plates missing, the suspect says he does
not know where they are. Whether that is true or not, I don’t
know,” Minton said.
In addition to the charge from the University Police, Lieutenant
Minton said the student will also be referred to Judicial
Affairs.
“With the amount of charges being brought against him,
we will be referring him to administration, where he may
receive additional punishment,” Minton said.
According to the Judicial Affairs Code of Student Conduct,
the minimum sanction the suspect could receive is specific
probation and the maximum sanction would be expulsion.
Minton said that although he is not sure, the plates will
probably be returned to their owners after the case is closed.
“We have been in touch with the DMV, since the plates
were reported stolen, and they have been assisting us in
the investigation. The North Carolina plates will probably
either be returned to the DMV or to their owners after the
case in closed,” Minton said.
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