A campus building at the University of Wisconsin-Stout was broken into and incurred thousands of dollars worth of damage. A suspect, who was found with bleeding arms and an alcohol level above the legal limit, was arrested and charged.
Emergency medical personnel responded to a call just before 4 a.m. They found the suspect, Menominee resident Colin P. Tennesson, 21, on campus, but he is not a student.
Tennesson then directed the officers to the Communication Technology Building where they found blood and shards of broken glass inside the building, according to a statement from UW-Stout.
Tennesson was bleeding from cuts to his arms, the statement said.
During the break-in some computer equipment had apparently been thrown out of a nearby window and a fire extinguisher had been set off, said Doug Mell, spokesperson for UW-Stout.
Mell said after spending time in the emergency room, Tennesson was taken to the Dunn County jail.
Tennesson has been charged with criminal damage to property and burglary, both of which are felonies, Mell said.
Chief of University Police Lisa Walter said Tennesson is from the area, but is not a student at the university.
“It is very likely that alcohol was involved in the morning’s events,” Mell said. “There was damage to three of the building’s rooms. The total cost of these damages may be somewhere around $10,000 to $12,000, but the actual amounts are subject to pending court decisions.”
Clean-up crews have been at work at the building, which was closed to the public on Friday, the statement said. Students and faculty should be returning to business as usual soon.
UW-Stout is currently trying to curb alcohol abuse on campuses following the deaths of six students over the past two years on campus.
The university has taken several steps to deal with problem, including harsher penalties for students who receiving drinking citations, holding more Friday classes to cut down on Thursday night drinking, and creating an alcohol task force to crack down on abusive drinking on campus.
