The student led, student read news organization at Georgia Southern University

The George-Anne Media Group

The student led, student read news organization at Georgia Southern University

The George-Anne Media Group

The student led, student read news organization at Georgia Southern University

The George-Anne Media Group

Crime Blotter

Savannah State comes into the season after posting a 1-9 record last year and 3-43 since the 2011 season. There hasn’t been a whole lot to get excited about with this program since they’ve made the jump to the FCS.

However, the Tigers brought in Erik Raeburn as the new head coach to help the program get off the ground. Raeburn has a career record of 135-39 at the Coe College and Wabash College in Division III. 

“The guy knows what he’s doing as a head coach. He has a lot of experience. He’s done a good job everywhere he’s been,” Tyson Summers, Georgia Southern Head Coach, said.

The Tigers will look to Arshun Spaulding to provide a lot of the punch on offense. The senior quarterback isn’t much of a thrower, having only tossed one touchdown to six interceptions last season. But he is capable as a runner, and was the leading rusher last season for his team as he finished with 640 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns. If the Eagles can key on him, that should be enough to neutralize their offense. 

Defensively, the Tigers were a mess last season. They gave up an average of 43 points and about 440 yards of offense a game. They will have senior outside linebacker Marquis Smith back after a 2015 campaign where he finished second on the team with 57 and one sack to go along with an interception, a forced fumble and a blocked kick. He’ll try to make a few big plays early on defense to keep the Tigers in the game.

“They’ve got talented athletes and a staff that’s won where they’ve been. They know what they’re doing on both sides of the ball,” Summers said.

Saturday will be a lot of firsts for the Eagles, but a victory against SSU won’t be one of them. They dismantled the Tigers 83-9 in 2014 and should cruise to another win in the season opener.

Lucy Stone, News Editor

Hit and runs on campus

During the month of Sept., 2 hit and runs were reported to Armstrong PD. The first occurred outside University Terrace II on Sept 14. The owner of the vehicle reported hearing a loud noise outside of his building that night between 9:30 to 10:45. The next day he saw that his truck had been struck with either another large vehicle or a truck. Officers have not found the vehicle yet. On Sept 21, the owner reported that she had parked in a visitor’s spot in from of the Police Department on Sept. 19, and that is when her vehicle was most likely hit. Pictures were taken of some paint transferred onto her vehicle.

Banned student strikes again

On Sept. 25, an officer patrolling campus in front of Compass Point noticed a green Honda parked with a black male sleeping in the driver’s seat. After running the tag and identifying the man, Officer Gubko realized he was a former student who had been banned from the residential section on Sept. 1. The driver claimed he had only dropped off a student who was letting him sleep in her car. Gubko served the man a Criminal Trespass notice and said he was no longer allowed on campus or he could be arrested. The man became upset and refused to sign the notice. The officer called Lt. Purtee to better explain the Trespass notice. The driver still refused to sign it and was asked to step out of his vehicle. Gubko smelled a strong alcohol odor and noticed an open bottle of vodka in the driver’s seat that was almost empty. Gubko frisked the man for weapons and found none. He was placed in handcuffs for detainment and agreed to sign the Trespass notice and would leave campus. Gubko called the owner of the vehicle but they did not answer. Officer Gubko and Lt. Duck drove the man home. UPDATE: This banned former student has been spotted on campus twice since this incident. An officer spotted him Oct. 19 in the green Honda Accord, but was on his way to a sick student in Windward and could not stop him.

Mason jar full ‘o’ somethin’

On Sept. 25, as Gubko was doing his final rounds with RAs, he smelled marijuana coming from one of the rooms in the 1000 building. After identifying where the smell came from, he knocked on the door and asked if the occupant had been smoking marijuana. The occupant then brought the officer a mason jar full of a “green leafy substance” that resembled marijuana. The marijuana was taken and flushed down a toilet. 4 others were identified in the room, one of them getting a second offense for smoking on campus. All offenders were told that an incident report and Maxient report would be written and that the Dean of Students would contact them in the near future.

Mug theft at Liberty Center

On Sept. 26 at the student commons area at the Liberty Center building, a Yeti mug was stolen. The victim claims she left the area for 30 minutes and when she returned, the mug was gone.

Stolen tailgate

On Oct. 3, a tailgate was reported stolen in a Residential Parking lot. The student said he had last remembered seeing his tailgate on Sept. 30 as he left for a dinner off campus. Unfortunately, no camera could have captured the thief on video. No updated information available.

Mary Jane, how could you?

On Oct. 3, a strong odor of marijuana was coming from Terrace 1 apartments. An officer and RA knocked on the door and asked the two roommates if they knew why the officer and RA were they. The occupants responded no. The officer responded that they smelled burnt marijuana coming from the room. One of the roommates replied that he had been smoking off campus. Both occupants gave the officer their information and a Maxient report was done. The officer also told them Student Affairs would contact them both.

More students smoking marijuana

At Compass Point on Oct. 16, two officers, Braun and McNamara were dispatched to deal with the situation. They identified the room where the smell was coming from and noticed a towel stuffed under the door. The officers identified themselves and knocked on the door. No one answered. This happened several more times until finally two women came out of the room and quickly shut the door behind them. The officers asked why they did not answer the door immediately and one of the occupants said she was afraid of the police. The officer asked why the room smelled and they responded that it was because they had been spraying air freshener. The occupants were reluctant to let the officers inside and one of them would not let them in her room. The officers told the occupants a report would be filed and it would be addressed by Andrew Dies and Student Integrity.

Money stolen from Veteran fundraiser

Candy bars and money was stolen from an office in the Military Veteran Resource Center in the PAC building on Oct. 17. The candy had been for a fundraiser for veterans. The doors had been securely locked in the office when the staff members left, but 10 candy bars and 90 dollars were stolen. There was damage to the door knob of the office.

Stolen cell phone

On Oct. 26, a female student had her cell phone stolen at The Galley. She left her phone playing music at a booth and when she came back, it was gone. Armstrong PD checked the cameras and could see the men who stole her phone. The victim claims she has seen them on campus multiple times.

Super speeder caught on campus

On Oct. 30, Officer Gubko conducted a traffic stop after he observed a car doing an illegal u-turn. The driver did not have a driver’s license but provided the officer with her name. After doing a search through GCIC, Gubko realized the driver was suspended for a super speeder violation. She was handcuffed and transported to Chatham County Detention Center with a bail set at $1500 and court date for Nov. 30. Neither the driver or the passenger had any affiliation with Armstrong.

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