Dispute ends in arrest

Metro student denies assaulting computer store employee

By Jesse Stephenson and
Perry Swanson
The Metropolitan

Auraria police arrested and ticketed a Metro student Feb. 6 after an employee at the campus computer store told officers the student threatened and assaulted him.

Lynn Spence, a Metro criminal justice major, said he only wanted to recover the computer that he left with John Amole, the storeâs former computer repair technician, for repairs a week and a half earlier. There was no threat of violence, he said.

Spence said he brought his laptop computer to Amole at Campus Computers for repairs at the end of January. The two agreed that Amole might not be able to repair the computer. But Spence said they agreed he would pick up the computer if Amole could not fix it.

ãThat was the only agreement,ä Spence said. ãFix it or not ÷ Iâll be back in a week.ä

When Spence went back to the store Feb. 6, he said Amole told him that his computer could not be fixed and that heâd given the hard drive to a department at Community College of Denver.

Ashwin Bhavikati, a Campus Computers employee who saw the transaction, said he doesnât remember an agreement between Spence and Amole to give out the laptopâs parts if it was irreparable.

ãWhat I do remember is that Lynn said itâs OK to take as much time as needed to repair the computer,ä Bhavikati said.

Ed Schlichenmayer, director of the Auraria Book Center, which runs Campus Computers, said Amole erred by giving parts away.

ãThat clearly would not be in the employeeâs scope of authority,ä Schlichenmayer said. ãPersonally, I think (Amole) went too far because for one, we donât traffic used computer parts.

When Spence found out Amole gave away his hard drive, he refused to leave the store until the computer was put back together and demanded to talk to store management, he said.

Schlichenmayer said the situation escalated until Amole left the store in search of ABC security.

Spence said Amole was gone for about 10 minutes and called campus police when he returned. While he waited for the police, Spence said he stood in the door to a storeroom with Amole inside. Spence said Amole then charged at him, hitting the door as he passed.
 

Schlichenmayer said Amole told authorities Spence shoved him into a shelf when he tried to leave the room.
The impact left a mark on Amoleâs left shoulder, but he wouldnât describe the particulars of the incident.

ãHe threatened me both verbally and physically and he assaulted me,ä Amole said. ãI donât have anything to hide. Mr. Spence was taken to jail; I was not.ä

Police ticketed Spence on suspicion of threatening to injure someone and assault. Spence said he was handcuffed and put in a holding cell in the Tivoli.

He could hear witnesses giving their versions of events to police as he sat for about an hour handcuffed in the 3-by 4-foot cell.

Spence, who stands 6 feet 5 inches, said he told police that Amoleâs injuries werenât sufficient to show he had been assaulted.

ãI said, ÎIf I hit this guy, youâd know I hit this guy. There would be some physical damage if I did,âä Spence said.

Spence, 29, said he has a record of fighting and disorderly conduct, and he is two months away from finishing a three-year probation for fighting.

ãGrowing up, I was just one of those guys that trouble just followed,ä he said.

If the case goes to trial, Spence said he wonât use a public attorney because he doesnât qualify for one. Since he canât afford to hire a lawyer either, he said he would act as his own defender.

Amole said he wonât hire a lawyer, either.

Amole turned in his resignation Feb. 6. He said his leaving was unrelated to the incident with Spence.

Schlichenmayer wouldnât comment on the criminal charges between Spence and Amole but said he gave Spence a 3-year-old demonstration-model computer as a replacement for the laptop.

ãI thought the right thing to do was to let him get back to being a student,ä he said. ãHe doesnât need any more aggravation.ä