A former university employee was arrested Tuesday night and later charged with trespassing after students reported a suspicious person at Roy. O West library.
Adam Heffelfinger, age 25, of Greencastle was taken into custody by Public Safety officer David Barber on the third floor of the library on March 8 at approximately 8 p.m. He was later booked at Putnam County Jail with $505 bail, according to the police report. Heffelfinger has been charged with criminal trespassing, a Class A misdemeanor.
He previously received a trespass warning on Feb. 15 after Public Safety received notice of a man who had been spending time in the Union Building. He was told by Barber that he would no longer be allowed on campus property.
The initial no-trespassing order said Heffelfinger told officers that he had once worked at the Hub but quit a year and a half ago. He then told officers he thought the union building would be a good place to hang out.
Sophomore Ashley Isaac encountered Heffelfinger on the third floor of the library Monday night, when the man was playing loud music. She and her friends asked him to turn it down, and he engaged in a brief conversation with the students.
"I left after a half an hour because I got a little creeped out," Isaac said.
She called Public Safety on Monday night, saying a man had been hanging around the library earlier in the evening, and according to the report, he was "approaching females and being inquisitive." Barber said he had arrived at the library once the call was placed, however the man had left by that time.
Isaac called again Tuesday night with the same complaint, after Heffelfinger approached her and took a seat beside her.
"He was asking me all these questions, asking my major, my age and if I had a kid — that was my favorite one," she said. "I thought he was a student. I asked him, ‘Do you go here?' and he said, ‘No, do you know what a ‘townie' is?'"
Director of Public Safety Angie Nally said it can be hard to discern whether a person has good reason to be on campus.
"I appreciate that the student did call, and I want DePauw students to do that in the future in these scenarios, even if the person turns out to be legitimate," she said.
Barber responded to Isaac's call and found Heffelfinger on the third floor of the library with his laptop out listening to music, saying he had come to the library to use the wireless Internet. Barber said Heffelfinger was cooperative throughout their exchange, the conclusion of which involved Barber leading Heffelfinger out of the library in handcuffs.
"I mean, I'm down to talk to people I don't know, but when you start playing 20 questions and it gets too nosy it starts to get a little weird," Isaac said.
Heffelfinger has previously been convicted of and served jail time in Indiana for drug possession and residential entry (a property crime). He remains in custody of the Putnam County Jail.