The Badger Herald: News: ‘Anarchists’ go on spree

News

‘Anarchists’ go on spree

Looking for a print version?
Simply use your browser’s ‘Print’ command and a printer-friendly document will be generated automatically.

Also by James Davison:

Overnight sit-in ends with arrests (December 13, 2004)
Asian tsunami's devastation extends to college students (January 17, 2005)
Bowl ticket sales kick off (December 2, 2004)
UW names official (December 6, 2004)

Thursday, October 7, 2004 12:00 a.m.

4 Vote 0 Votes

University of Wisconsin police arrested two self-proclaimed anarchists Tuesday who, in a vendetta against government vehicles and wealthy students, went on a crime spree. Their actions included campus-wide damage and theft last weekend.

Upon arrest, Edward Burger, 19, and Riccardo Dufek, 18, confessed to approximately 80 recent thefts and incidents of damaging property. The resulted damage is expected to exceed $15,000, according to a UW Police Department release.

Burger and Dufek have no affiliation with UW.

Lt. Eric Holen, UWPD, said the police originally thought several cases of slashed bicycle tires prior to Oct. 3 were isolated incidents, but Sunday’s vandalism was similar enough for the police to lump all incidents together.

“The volume of [the incidents] from Lot 60 started to give them a pattern,” Holen said.

Early Sunday morning, after damaging several cars in a UW parking ramp on Johnson Street, Burger and Dufek rode stolen bikes down the Lakeshore path while drinking bottles of wine they had stolen from a car, according to a release.

They continued to UW’s Lot 60, where they damaged and smashed windows of 19 more cars and urinated in a university-owned truck. The men then stopped at the UW Hospital emergency room, where Burger sought treatment for hand and head injuries, the release reported.

After treatment in the emergency room the men continued to damage other UW parking lots, focusing on vehicles with U.S. government license plates. Burger and Dufek damaged at least one other UW building, the release stated.

“They were developed as suspects [after the weekend] and on Tuesday we were able to arrest them,” Holen said.

Police recovered some stolen property when Burger and Dufek were arrested, including brass knuckles, bicycles and stereo equipment, Holen said.

According to the release, Burger said one of his reasons for committing the crimes was to make a name for himself.

Both men are being held in the Dane county jail on probation holds, Holen said.

“They probably haven’t been charged officially,” Holen said, adding formal charges will be brought against both men within a week.

UW junior Alyssa Ayres, who owns a car, said parking on campus is a potentially risky situation.

“I worry about it, but with the high price of parking here, you can’t really afford to keep [a car] in a garage,” Ayres said.

Both Burger and Dufek have previously been convicted of disorderly conduct, possessing concealed weapons, and theft, according to court documents. Burger also has prior convictions for graffiti and criminal damage to property.

4 Comments | Leave a comment

Anonymous | October 7, 2004 10:21 AM | Reply
IP hash: 42cad11c

Whee! Down with the man! Aww, shit. Jail sucks dude.

Anonymous | October 7, 2004 2:20 PM | Reply
IP hash: 760120f8

Beavis and Butt-head strike Madison.
Heh Heh, Heh Heh!

Anonymous | October 7, 2004 4:05 PM | Reply
IP hash: a2ceab25

Burger, you are deranged. You give liberal causes a bad name. You better think long and hard about the consequences of your actions.

Anonymous | October 7, 2004 10:06 PM | Reply
IP hash: e4d3931e

I am sure your roommate will enjoy your eloquent discourses on the ills of capitalist society after he is finished schooling you on the sexual relationships of prison.