Scared and trapped outside of a locked door at UNM's Science and Technology Park, Stephanie Johnston carefully recorded the license plate of a pickup truck belonging to a man she says was exposing himself.
In an anxious attempt to report the crime and ensure her safety, Johnston called APD and was transferred to the UNM Police Department at about 3:30 p.m.
But University police never came to her aid.
And to the 44-year-old UNM student's dismay, six days would pass until cops would file a report about the incident.
What to do?
With no one in sight and a dispatch operator telling her police were unavailable, Johnston walked nervously back to the bus stop and waited for more passengers to arrive.
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Three shuttle buses and 20 minutes later, Johnston finally felt safe enough to make a break for her car after a group of passengers exited an arriving shuttle.
As she was preparing to drive away, a security guard arrived and told her she would have to go to UNMPD to file a report.
Dumbfounded, Johnston vowed to do just that after the three-hour lab class she was already running late for.
When she went to the UNM Police Department later that night on Nov. 5, she was told someone would contact her to file a report.
"Nobody ever called," Johnston said.
Internal Investigation
Johnston hand-delivered a letter of complaint to UNMPD Cmdr. James Daniels on Nov. 19. Daniels immediately began an internal investigation into the complaint and met with Johnston the next day.
"It will be a complete investigation into this matter, and I will address these issues," Daniels said, adding that because the investigation is ongoing, he is limited in what he can say.
"It just seemed that until I did something formal, no one was going to do anything about it," Johnston said. "That was not what I expected."
Not only did University police not file a report until six days after the alleged incident, it was never recorded on the Nov. 5 dispatch blotter that Johnston had called.
"It would seem this case was grossly mishandled and had it not been for my background and perseverance, along with the actions of the Probation and Parole Division, the inappropriate behavior of a convicted sex offender would have gone unreported," Johnston wrote in her complaint.
Not a Lobo
Jason Sides, the man accused of exposing himself, is on probation in San Juan County after being convicted of two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor in February.
Under the conditions of his probation, which he is on until 2006, Sides must receive written permission to leave the county.
"In this case, he did not have prior permission," said Tia Bland, a spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections.
A San Juan judge issued an arrest and hold order on Nov. 13 for Sides after learning he had been spotted in Bernalillo County.
An Albuquerque Metropolitan Court judge also issued an arrest warrant for Sides on Nov. 21, based on a criminal complaint filed by University police.
Sides was pulled over on a suspected traffic violation by a Bernalillo County sheriff on Nov. 24.
He was arrested, arraigned the next day in Metropolitan Court and is now in Albuquerque's West Side Jail.
Bland said deputies would eventually take Sides to San Juan County to be seen by a judge on the suspected probation violation. But it depends on the two courts' caseload as to which one will take first crack at Sides.
