University Police arrested a student after he allegedly punched two holes in the wall of a South Campus Commons 4 hallway shortly after midnight Saturday.
Police charged Michael Kalinowski, 20 — who is a resident of the building — with malicious destruction of property and disorderly intoxication. He is scheduled to appear in Hyattsville District Court on July 18, court records show.
Resident Life staff in Commons 4 called the police around 12:25 a.m. to report an act of vandalism in the building. Resident assistants told the officers they saw a white male acting disorderly and pointed them in the direction where they believed he ran, according to University Police spokesman Capt. Marc Limansky.
Officers found two holes punched in the wall near the fourth floor elevator. Kalinowski’s university identification card was near the damage, which led to his arrest, Limansky said.
Kalinowski, who was released Sunday, wrote in an email that he caused the damage to the wall, but that it was not a deliberate act of vandalism.
“I punched the wall out of anger over something that happened between myself and a neighbor, and I accidentally put my fist through the sheetrock,” Kalinowski wrote. “I was not involved with any accounts of intentional vandalism or destruction.”
Kenyatta Crenshaw, the community director for Commons, said the damage Kalinowski caused violates his resident agreement form, and the consequences — such as being kicked out of housing or placed on probation — may vary.
Limansky said arrests in vandalism incidents are rare as they are difficult to pursue, but he credited the combined efforts of Commons and police officials in this case.
“Any time we start to see an increase in acts of vandalism within the Commons, the police department will increase patrols in efforts to apprehend people committing those acts,” Limansky wrote. “The arrest in this case, however, was the result of quick reporting on the part of Resident Life staff, who also conduct patrols of the buildings.”
Last summer, Commons buildings experienced an unusually high rate of vandalism, which officials estimated cost between $5,000 and $10,000 in damages. This prompted Commons employees and police officers to increase patrols around the buildings last summer.
Rental rates in Commons increased 3 percent for next school year. While this hike was attributed to the rising cost of living, the building’s representatives have warned that if vandalism continues to increase, the rates may become higher to make up for repairing the damages.
While Saturday’s incident marked the fifth reported case of vandalism in the buildings so far this month — with this recent incident being the only arrest — Crenshaw noted officials have seen a significant decrease from last summer. She said officials have amped up efforts to raise awareness of the issue by sending out notices and having resident assistants spread the word, and she noted that more residents are reporting incidents of vandalism this year.
“Students have been educated. They’re concerned about their community and living environment,” Crenshaw said. “A lot of things have been happening in conjunction to decrease the amount of vandalism that we have. It might spike up again, but it has decreased.”
Court records show Kalinowski was charged with trespassing, malicious destruction of property and theft in May 2009. In April 2010, he was found guilty and fined for a malicious destruction of property charge.
Limansky said the May 2009 charges were for allegedly breaking into Commons 7, smashing two windows and stealing two fire extinguishers. In April 2010, Kalinowski was charged with smashing the windshield of a vehicle parked in Leonardtown, Limansky said.
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