Two Middletown residents were arrested last Sunday, Sept. 22 around 2:30 a.m. for trespassing in the Butterfields dormitories. Michael J. Niro, 21, and Michael Ugolik, 22, entered Butterfield C and were attempting to leave as Public Safety, who had been called to the scene by students, arrived. Niro and Ugolik had both previously been arrested for trespassing on campus and threatening students with an airsoft gun.

According to a Sept. 29 article in The Middletown Patch, both Niro and Ugolik were charged with first-degree criminal trespass and second-degree breach of peace.

Interim Director of Public Safety Tony Bostick commented on the incident.

“We got called in by students and went over to investigate,” Bostick said. “Basically once we identified them—they had received warnings in the past to remain off campus, or else they’d get arrested—we brought in the Middletown Police.”

The Middletown Patch reported that Niro and Ugolik were prevented from entering the dormitory by students; however, Bostick stated that they were inside the building.

“They were actually inside the dorms, which is trespassing,” he said. “That was one of the charges because they had been warned off campus, so they had really no reason to be in the dormitories, especially uninvited. We don’t know [how they got in]… They were actually trying to leave the dorm when we got there, and that’s when we approached them, out in the courtyard.”

This incident occurred during the same weekend as three break-ins on Fountain Avenue, which prompted a campus safety email announcement from Bostick and Dean of Students Rick Culliton. However, because Niro and Ugolik were arrested, they were not considered to present an ongoing threat to the community, so news of the incident was not included in the campus announcement.

Bostick emphasized the importance of student awareness of such occurrences and urged all students to call Public Safety when they see suspicious activity.

“The students really did well by calling us,” he said. “The main thing is letting us know and being able to respond and deal with the incident, depending on what we’ve got going on. A lot of this stuff is piggybacking—folks hanging around the exterior of the buildings. So if you see someone hanging around for a long period of time, give us a call.”

He noted the difficulty of discerning students from non-students, particularly in this instance, where the two arrested parties were of college age.

“Who’s a student?” Bostick asked. “That’s always the big question. They blended right in—21, 22—that age type. They look the part. That’s the hardest part.”