A University student was robbed Saturday night on the corner of 29th Avenue Southeast and Como Avenue Southeast.
The victim was riding his bike when a car pulled up and asked him where the party was at, said Steve Johnson, deputy chief for the University Police Department.
The victim replied that he didn’t know where a party was, but the car pulled up alongside him again and asked the same question.
When the student stopped to talk, five suspects jumped out of the car, knocked him off his bike, kicked and punched him and stole the money out of his wallet, Johnson said.
This investigation is still active and cannot be connected to other incidents at this time, Johnson said.
Students should avoid potentially dangerous encounters with strangers, Johnson said.
Johnson said students can use the escort service, by dialing 624-WALK to make their walks safer.
High and running
An odor of marijuana from a residence hall room Saturday caused officers to be called to Centennial Hall.
From outside the room, officers could hear loud music and several voices, Johnson said.
When officers identified themselves at the door, they heard whispers of “quick, hide it, hide it,” Johnson said.
Then officers outside the door heard the sounds of windows being opened and people in the room whispering, “go, go, go,” Johnson said.
Officers called for more squads to watch the window of the room.
When officers arrived, they saw a student covered in mud from the approximate 12-foot jump from the window of the room, Johnson said.
Officers arrested the student for fleeing police and he was booked at Hennepin County Jail.
According to the police report, the other people inside the room were not cited.
A copy of the incident report was mailed to Centennial Hall, Johnson said.
Wachen Anderson, coordinator of judicial affairs for housing and residential life, said all residents of the residence halls are bound by housing policies. When the policies are broken, there are a variety of different consequences.
In some cases that involve drugs or alcohol, the person who gets caught will have counseling with a licensed counselor for further intervention, Wachen said.
Forgot the license plate
On Oct. 6, a University student was crossing the intersection of Church Street Southeast and Washington Avenue Southeast on a bike when he was struck by a vehicle.
A witness of the hit-and-run, Jim Rosvold, 32, said he was in his car waiting to make a turn from Church Street Southeast onto Washington Avenue Southeast, when he saw a vehicle run a red light and hit a bicyclist.
After hitting the bicyclist, the driver slowed down, but then sped off, police reports said.
But, the front license plate of the vehicle was found at the scene.
The student complained of his head hurting, but there were no other physical injuries, Johnson said.
“The victim was lucky,” Rosvold said.
The student was escorted to Boynton Health Service by an officer, Johnson said.
Investigators are still working on the case.
Drunk and lost
At approximately 2:30 a.m. Saturday, officers went to the lobby of University Village apartments to meet with a person who said he had been assaulted.
When the officers arrived, they discovered the man who had called police was not the victim of assault, but was instead extremely intoxicated.
The man had bloodshot, watery eyes, difficulty speaking and was hyperventilating. He admitted to drinking mixed drinks and 10 to 13 shots of rum, according to the police report.
He said he was lost and needed to go home, according to the police report.
He was given a preliminary breath test and his blood alcohol concentration was 0.315 percent.
“He was in a dangerous situation,” Johnson said. “For someone to be 0.315, that’s a pretty high (blood alcohol content).”
The man was transported to the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview to make sure he was OK, Johnson said.
When people drink to the point that they are not able to make decisions, they might be putting themselves in real danger in many different ways, Johnson said.
