Police hand out 60 fines for drinking
August 21, 2005
Echo Park and Greek Row proved to be the place to celebrate the end of another summer in DeKalb.
During Saturday night’s festivities, police responded to a report of a car turned upside down in a parking lot on Spiros Court and a fight on Aspen Court 20 minutes later.
Police made no arrests in either reported incident. Both cases are still under investigation.
According to police reports, the car in the Spiros Court incident was flipped over by six suspects described as white males in their early 20s.
The fight on Aspen Court also has yet to lead to an arrest but police were able to contact the victim.
Police also handed out more than 60 drinking ticket violations since Thursday in the area of Echo Park and Greek Row.
A heavier patrol has been set up for Greek Row and Echo Park, said DeKalb police Lt. Carl Leoni. The patrols will be out in force until it gets cold.
Every year when students begin to occupy apartments and residence halls, police issue a very high number of drinking ticket violations and this year is no exception.
“Don’t drink if you are not of age and don’t drink on the sidewalk,” Leoni said.
The police department handed out flyers to fraternities and sororities that outline the most common drinking and minor violations the department deals with, Leoni said.
“Each year we get a new batch of students and it takes time for them to acclimate to the way things are around here,” Leoni said.
In 2004 there was a 15 percent increase in liquor violation arrests from 2003, according to police handouts.
Police expect the numbers to be high again this year, Leoni said.
“We are not going to hand out many warnings,” Leoni said. “Students are all adults, albeit young adults.”