Athens Crime Watch: Crime during the Jan. 22 blackout

Nearly 18,000 Athens residents experienced a power outage last Friday, lasting from 2 p.m. to about 1 a.m. the following day. The blackout included Ohio University’s campus, where some students without power headed Uptown for what some deemed “Blackout Fest.”

With lines outside bars packing the sidewalks and a lack of light leaving streets black by the evening, the Athens (APD) and Ohio U (OUPD) Police Departments noticed an influx in theft and disorderly conduct offenses.

During the hours of the power outage, APD received 16 calls for service and made eight arrests. OUPD logged three incidents.

Thief in the night

Of the eight arrests made by APD, four were on the account of theft. Half of the incidents of theft were from vehicles, while the other half were larceny. 

Shed some headlight on this

One arrest was made for driving under suspension. OUPD stated that a female student also reported the theft of her driver’s license.

One man was cited for speeding.

Disturbing the peace, disrupting the dark

In the evening of Jan. 22, a threat assessment was made on a male student.

Later that night, at 11:14 p.m., APD was called in for a noise complaint. At 11:21 p.m., a fight was reported.

Two additional arrests were made in the early morning of Jan. 23 due to disorderly conduct. 

Orange is sus

APD received calls Jan. 22 for service regarding one drunk person and one suspicious person. Another call came in reporting an act of vandalism.