Police officers warn against trespassing at Mount Pleasant Center, offer Halloween safety tips

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Five individuals received citations for entering an unoccupied building and for trespassing Friday at the Mount Pleasant Center.

At 4:37 a.m., a security officer for the Mount Pleasant Center, 1400 W. Pickard St.,  saw people in the area and notified the Mount Pleasant Police Department, said Public Information Officer Jeff Browne.

“The subjects actually broke into buildings and were stealing stuff out of the buildings,” Browne said. “Our officers ended up catching them, and we were assisted by the Tribal Police Department.”

Those arrested include Pablo Merlo, 22, Kristen Guzdial, 21, Clarkston freshman Hunter Preston, 19, Austin Adams, 20, and Eric Alexandrowicz, 21. Alexandrowicz was also cited for a liquor violation.

Subjects involved attempted to steal $645 worth of items from the property, including a helmet and three face masks, photographs in frames, cowboy hats and several signs.

Browne said they encounter a lot of people who go “ghost hunting.”

“A lot of those buildings aren’t safe,” he said. “Ceilings are coming apart, there’s black mold, there’s critters living in the buildings, the floors are bad. That’s why we really try to keep people out of there.”

The Mount Pleasant Center was previously a state home for people with developmental disabilities, closing its doors in the fall of 2009. The city decided to purchase the vacant property in March and in September the City Commission approved a new bid for security for the property that reduced service from 16 to 12 hours daily.

Mount Pleasant Police have put effort into keeping trespassers out with educational campaigns and posting signs, Browne said.

“If you look at the property, it’s posted very well as far as, ‘Don’t come on the property,’” Browne said. “We have a security firm that patrols it for us and the police patrol it as well. People caught on the property will receive a citation.”

Safety tips

Aside from warnings against trespassing, local officers are also recommending safety tips for those going out on Halloween.

In order to make Halloween safer for residents, Mount Pleasant Police sent out a press release containing tips for trick-or-treaters. The tips include avoiding kids that will be criss-crossing the roads, traveling in groups and wearing reflective tape or bright colors for walking in the dark.

Browne said they don’t usually have any major incidents when it comes to trick-or-treaters.

CMU Police Lt. Cameron Wassman said kids need to be careful not to get themselves into trouble or sticky situations by being aware of suspicious activity. “It is a different weekend and you see a lot of people walking around dressed in costumes,” Wassman said. “If you’re out and about, be aware of what goes on around you, and do whatever you can to be safe. Suspicious activity needs to be reported.” Browne said college parties have not been too big of a problem during Halloween, but they still take measures to make sure everyone is safe. “One thing that we make sure to do is to target areas where there’s high populations of people,” Browne said.