Former student lands in Denver jail

Man charged with shoplifting from Auraria bookstore

By Jesse Stephenson
The Metropolitan

A former member of Metroâs student government was jailed Jan. 26 after police officers approached him on suspicion of shoplifting from the Auraria Book Center.

John Saiz, a sophomore at Metro, was charged with resisting arrest, disturbing the peace and shoplifting.

Saiz, 29, who served as vice president of Academic Affairs and later as acting president of the assembly during the 1996-97 academic year, said he hasnât shoplifted for years.

ãYes, I have a record of shoplifting but thatâs from when I was, like, 19-years-old,ä he said.

Shortly before his arrest, which occurred at about 2:30 p.m., Saiz said he was sitting on a bench outside the bookstore when a friend exited the store and handed him a book. Saiz said right after that, four police officers approached them.

David Barela, 21, was ticketed along with Saiz on suspicion of shoplifting and ordered to appear in Denver Court, an Auraria police report says. Barela was not jailed.

ãThey wouldnât tell me why I was being arrested,ä Saiz said. ãSo I started yelling, and I yelled only two things. Those were, ÎWhat are my charges?â and ÎWhat am I being charged with?âä
 

Denver Police, who took Saiz into custody, could not comment on the arrest because a report of the incident is not yet on file in the departmentâs computer system.

Saiz was released from jail on a $200 bond at about 12 a.m. the next day, he said.

ãThey wanted to let me cool off in the cell,ä he said.

Said said although ãnobody saw (him) shopliftingä from the bookstore, he can understand why some people, especially poor students, would steal from there.

Saiz criticized the bookstore for charging high prices for books but paying students low prices for them at book buyback time.

Saiz said he will likely be represented by a public defender when his case goes to court.
ãI seek the truth, I will be innocent until proven guilty,ä he said.

Last year, Saiz was a vocal member of Metroâs student government who led a failed drive to end the collegeâs affiliation with the Colorado Student Association, a statewide student lobbying group supported, in part, by Metro student fees. Saiz said the CSA did not do a good job of representing students who attend Metro.