Police arrested two men Friday in conjunction with last week’s string of campus robberies, Yale Police Lt. Michael Patten said.
Marquel Redd, 19, and Julius Smith, 17, both of New Haven, were allegedly involved with two of the three incidents — including the mugging at gunpoint of a Yale sophomore — that occurred near the University’s campus. Redd was charged with two counts each of first-degree robbery and second-degree larceny and with one count of conspiracy. Smith was arrested on outstanding warrant charges.
Detectives from both the Yale and the New Haven police departments conducted investigative interviews and were led to believe Redd was involved with the crimes, Patten said. They went to Redd’s home at 196 Crown St. — about two blocks from where Eve Holwell ’04 was robbed — where they found Redd and Smith. The detectives ran a check on Smith and found he was wanted on charges of attempted robbery by Metro-North police and on charges of violation of probation. Both suspects were then arrested.
New Haven police were not available for comment Monday evening.
The two men allegedly responsible for the three incidents last week have been described in repeated e-mails to the entire Yale community and to specific residential colleges as college-aged, one about 5 feet 10 inches tall and stockily built, the other 6 feet tall and thinner. They have reportedly been dressed in dark clothing, and one of the men has worn a dark ski hat. The men have also been armed.
Yale police could not confirm whether Redd and Smith fit the physical description of the alleged robbers. Their height and weight were not noted in the police report, Patten said.
University Secretary Linda Lorimer said that even though police have suspects in custody, students should not let down their guard.
“We still urge you to exercise caution, to avoid walking alone at night, and to use the security services available to you,” Lorimer wrote yesterday in an e-mail to the Yale community.
But some students are not particularly worried for their safety — and were not fearful even before police had suspects in custody.
“I guess I was a little more cautious when I heard of the muggings,” said Konrad Kaczmarek ’02, who lives at 31 High St., just two doors down from where Holwell was mugged. “But I’m a pretty big guy, and I always felt that I was safe.”
Jesse Schotter ’03 lives in Saybrook College, in whose basement the two robbers were allegedly spotted on Sunday. Although he said he was glad to know that arrests had been made in connection with the crimes, Schotter said he feels only slightly relieved.
“In fact, I wasn’t that concerned in the first place,” he said.
Patten said that the YPD investigation of the three robberies is ongoing and that the NHPD is also pursuing the cases.
[ydn-legacy-photo-inline id=”19921″ ]