Campus safety officers catch car hopping student
By C. Harold Pierce
A man who hopped into a student’s car Thursday without her permission was caught Tuesday afternoon, Campus Safety officers said.
The suspect, whose name cannot be released for privacy reasons, is suspended from campus for ten days, District Safety and Security Supervisor Lt. James Wooley said.
Campus safety officers found a man matching the description of the suspect in Nealley Library Tuesday at about 1:30 p.m. He denied accusations that he was the car hopper, but the driver and a witness identified him.
The car hopper, identified as a Centennial Education Center student, is seen on campus security videos harassing students for a lift Thursday morning in the parking lot south of the football field.
After being turned down several times, he jumped into a female student’s car as she waited for a parking spot.
The driver refused to press charges with the Santa Ana Police Department, Wooley said, but the college will discipline the student.
The suspect could be accused of harassment and violating sections “D” and “F” of the Student Code of Conduct, dealing with disruption of traffic and detention of a person on district property, said Santa Ana College Associate Dean of Student Development Loy Nashua.
A judicial review panel made up of an administrator, student and classified employee will hear the student’s case at CEC after his suspension ends.
“The discipline could be anything from suspension to expulsion, or they could find him not responsible whatsoever,” Nashua said.
See related story: Police, Campus Safety officers on lookout for car hopping suspect
