Robbery changes student's attitude of walking alone
A UA student was robbed of $100 Tuesday night after a man sneaked up behind him and held him at knifepoint near East Fourth Street and North Santa Rita Drive.
The 18-year-old La Paz Hall resident, who asked that his name not be published, told university police he was walking alone south of the Marley building, 1145 E. Fourth St., between 8 and 8:30 p.m. when the man came up behind him.
"He held a knife to my back and grabbed my head and said, 'Give me all your money or I'll stab you,'" the student said in an interview yesterday. "I reached into my pocket and gave him the cash I had, and he said, 'Don't turn around.'"
Cmdr. Brian Seastone, a university police spokesman, said to his knowledge, it was the first campus armed robbery reported this year.
Four robberies were reported to university police in 1997, according to the most recent annual crime statistics.
The student said he waited several seconds after the robber fled, then turned around, but the man had disappeared.
"I was incredibly scared and in shock," said the student, who was not injured. "I couldn't move."
The student, who was on his way to a meeting at his fraternity house, said he immediately returned to his dorm, where a friend called police after helping calm him down.
Police received the call at 11:30 p.m., three hours after the incident, according to police reports.
Police returned to the scene but found no evidence of the crime and no suspects, police reports stated.
Seastone said officers may have had a better chance of finding a suspect if they had been called immediately after the crime occurred.
"Always, anytime anybody is the victim of a crime, we encourage them, first, to make sure they're safe, and then immediately report it to police," Seastone said.
Because the student did not see the robber, police were unable to come up with a description of the man Tuesday night, reports stated.
"We'll see if we can do any type of composite (drawing) or anything and take it as far as we can," Seastone said.
The student said yesterday that the man sounded like he was in his late 20s and had a deep voice.
He said he rarely walks around campus by himself at night and never will again.
"I'm going to walk in groups always now," he said. "Whether it's day or night, I've heard too many scary stories, and now I'm part of one."
The Associated Students provides a free escort service from 6:30 p.m. to 12:55 a.m. Sunday through Thursday nights.
Starting this Sunday, the service will be available starting at 6 p.m., said Rachel Reinhardt, assistant director of the student-run service.
"All people have to do is give us a call at 621-SAFE," Reinhardt said. "We will pick them up, usually within five minutes, and take them wherever they're going within about a mile (from campus)."
Student employees or volunteers will pick up callers in a van or golf cart or walk with them to their destination, Reinhardt said. There usually are two to four escorts each night who patrol campus when they are not escorting people, she said.
"It's kind of being a visible deterrent when UAPD and security aren't around," Reinhardt said.
Seastone encouraged people to use the Escort Service, stick to well-lighted areas, appear confident when they walk and remain aware of their surroundings at all times.
Anyone who witnessed the crime or can provide additional information should call university police at 621-UAPD, Seastone said. Callers who want to remain anonymous can call 88-CRIME.
Wildcat reporter Liz Dailey contributed to this report. Joseph Altman Jr. can be reached via e-mail at Joseph.Atlman.Jr@wildcat.arizona.edu.
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