KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Police have identified the man found on the roof of Eastgate Middle School on Monday, May 12, as Adam L. Caulkins, 31. On Thursday he was charged in Clay County with five misdemeanors. He’s been accused of first-degree trespassing, second-degree tampering, resisting lawful detention and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to use.
The principal at Eastgate Middle School spotted Caulkins on the school’s roof and called police. The school was quickly placed on lock down for the safety of students.
Police said when they arrived on the scene Caulkins refused to come down from the roof and charged at an officer, forcing him to retreat. When backup officers got up to the roof, Caulkins was found squatting behind an air-conditioning unit and he allegedly had a syringe stuck in his arm.
An officer ordered him to drop the syringe and get on the ground, to which Caulkins reportedly replied: “I just want to finish getting high.”
Police said Caulkins would not comply with their orders so an officer used a Taser X2 on him and he was taken into custody. According to a probable cause statement, deputies recovered a syringe with blood in it and a plastic baggie that tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine. They also found that three air conditioning units had been turned off, leading to the tampering charge.
When Caulkins was interviewed, he told a detective that he gained access to the roof the same way he had his entire life. A former student at Eastgate, he told the detective that he jumped on to air conditioning pipes on the east side of the building to get to a lower roof. Once he was there, he climbed up a pole to get to the upper roof according to the probable cause statement. Caulkins told the detective he had done this many times.
He told the detective he wasn’t considering the kids with his actions, just that he wanted to get high and he also admitted turning off the air conditioners, but said he didn’t know why he did it.
Sheriff Paul Vescovo praised the quick actions of many to bring the situation under control.
“The swift actions of the school administrators to properly secure the school and students enabled law enforcement to focus directly on apprehending the subject quickly with no bystander being injured,” Sheriff Vescovo said. “This is a great example how our community can work together as one to obtain a common goal.”
Caulkins remains in jail at the Clay County Detention Center.
