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SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Utah has issued a campus-wide safety alert regarding a man who officials say was following women into university housing. The man is now facing charges of stalking, criminal trespassing and lewdness.
The man, identified as 34-year-old Oluwatobi Oludaisi Shokunbi, also known as "King Rocky," threatened a woman at the University of Utah Hospital, according to a safety alert issued Wednesday night.
University of Utah Police Capt. Brian Lohrke said Shokunbi was first confronted and trespassed from the Salt Lake City campus on Saturday; he said Shokunbi "verbalized some inappropriate comments to our female students."
Then, on Tuesday, Shokunbi returned to Kahlert Village, a residential community home to approximately 1,000 first-year students. While there, he was arrested by university police for investigation of trespassing and was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail before being released.
Lohrke said his department has been investigating Shokunbi for "the last couple days."
"Salt Lake City has an open case on him right now for trespassing where he entered the apartment of three of our students who live off campus and then this same individual, King Rocky, was seen following one of our students into a residential housing building, where he was confronted by our police officers," Lohrke said.
"He is believed to be unhoused and his whereabouts are currently unknown," the safety alert states.
Shokunbi is described as a Black male with a black and gray beard, is 6 feet tall and weighs about 250 pounds.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gil announced charges for Shokunbi on Thursday.
A charging document states Shokunbi entered the residence of a University of Utah student on Sept. 4, began rummaging around and asked for the victim by name. A roommate confronted the man and told him to leave.
The student told police she did not know who Shokunbi was and that they had never met before.
A week later, Shokunbi approached the victim at a TRAX station where she recognized him from the incident the week before. The victim said she was "unsettled" and believed he was following her, charges state.
On Sept. 14, Shokunbi entered a residence hall on campus where the victim was working on a project. University of Utah police officers escorted him out of the building, charges state.
The charges said Shokunbi's action caused the victim to fear for her safety. He received one charge of class A misdemeanor stalking for this case.
In addition to the stalking, Shokunbi was charged with criminal trespassing and lewdness for a separate case also in the last few weeks.
On Sept. 7, a victim called police saying a man, later identified as Shokunbi, entered her apartment, opened her door and said, "I'm looking for a beautiful lady," charges state.
The victim told him to leave, but he then entered her roommate's room. The charges said the roommate knew Shokunbi from work, but did not know him personally. She told him to leave.
Both victims did not know how Shokunbi learned their address.
That same day, officers responded to the same apartment complex for a report of lewdness. Shokunbi was standing in the apartment's community room "completely naked," charges state. He was taken into custody by the police.
"(Shokunbi) has put multiple female victims in fear for their safety and security within a very short time frame and is escalating in his behavior. All the victims involved are young women who have been victimized in their homes or in other secured areas in which they have a right and expectation of protection," a motion for pretrial detention says.
In addition to the campus safety alert, Lohrke said there will be an increased police presence around residential areas.
"We also have the benefit of having campus security officers, who are non-sworn officers, on campus as well. They support us quite a bit and they are patrolling for us as well," Lohrke said.
He added that the department is also working on a program to have an "embedded officer" within residential halls "mainly for communication and relationship building, but also for situations like this."
The university asks anyone who sees Shokunbi to notify police by calling 801-585-2677.
