.Two men accused of robbing a student outside Melrose Student Suites on Sunday were scheduled Tuesday for their first appearance in Hennepin County District Court.
Ahmed Mohamed, 23, and Ismail Abdirahman, 18, allegedly robbed Paul Tran, a student at Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Coon Rapids.
Tran said he was in Minneapolis visiting a friend at Melrose this weekend when he was robbed by the two men.
He said he was leaving the housing complex to go to work Sunday around 7 a.m. when the men approached him.
Tran said he turned around to face them and they kept walking toward him.
“Once they got close enough, one of them tried swinging at me,” Tran said. “I dodged the punch, and he completely missed me.”
Tran said he asked the men if they really wanted to fight. They didn’t show him a gun, but one man told Tran he had one, Tran said.
One of the men punched Tran in the face and told him to give them his wallet, which he then handed over.
Once they had his wallet, Tran said he was able to run away and call police.
An hour and a half later, Richfield police took the two suspects and a car matching the description Tran gave police into custody, according to the Minneapolis police report.
Mohamed and Abdirahman were booked at Hennepin County Jail by Minneapolis police.
They remained there on $100,000 bail, according to the jail’s roster.
Minneapolis police Sgt. Jesse Garcia said Tran’s wallet was found in one of the men’s pockets when Richfield police pulled the car over.
Tran said he later identified the men as the ones who robbed him.
Abdirahman was charged with aggravated assault, and was also booked for simple robbery, a felony that carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
Mohamed was charged with aggravated robbery in the first degree, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and $35,000 in fines.
He was also booked for possession of marijuana and carrying brass knuckles in violation of city law – both misdemeanors.
There was no gun found, Garcia said.
This was the second crime involving a gun or an implied gun near Melrose this month.
There was also an attempted assault nearby on Nov. 4 when a suspect pulled a gun on a University student.
‘Criminal mischief’ in Iowa City
University police posted a crime alert to their Web site this week for a crime that occurred Nov. 10 in Iowa City.
Two men wearing University football jerseys were captured by security cameras in Iowa Book and Supply, Iowa City police officer Greg Humrichouse said, and are wanted for criminal mischief in the third degree.
Iowa City police believe the two men are responsible for damage done to merchandise in a storage closet at the store.
“I have no proof they are University of Minnesota students,” Humrichouse said.
The University football team was in Iowa City to play the University of Iowa Hawkeyes the morning of Nov. 10.
The two men urinated on clothing and iron-on patches, as well as the machine that attaches those patches to clothing, Humrichouse said.
The damage was estimated at $850, which means the crime is an aggravated misdemeanor.
If anyone recognizes the men in the pictures on the University police’s Web site, he or she can call Humrichouse at 319-356-5279, or can make anonymous phone calls to 319-358-TIPS.
