A streak of sub-zero temperatures and lack of potential victims could have led to a recent decrease in crime on and around the University of Minnesota campus .
In the days leading up to the start of the new semester, notable crimes in the area included robbery and theft.
Sporty’s Pub and Grill robbed at gunpoint
On Jan. 11, Sporty’s Pub and Grill reported an armed robbery.
Jerome Caldwell, 36, and Richard Collins, 22, have been charged in Hennepin County District Court for their alleged roles in the robbery.
According to the complaint, Caldwell allegedly entered the bar and held a gun up — which turned out to be a BB gun painted to look more threatening — to a manager and demanded the bar’s cash.
He then went to the patrons’ tables and demanded they hand over their valuables “fast or I’m going to kill you,” according to the criminal complaint.
Collins, meanwhile, allegedly went around nearby homes, knocked on windows and asked to be let in.
Ryan Zurbay, listed as a witness in court documents, said Collins knocked on his window and told him “Let me in; someone’s trying to kill me.”
According to court documents, Collins served as Caldwell’s lookout. When police searched him they found a pocket knife and a machete-like knife on his person.
Though six phones and seven wallets were taken, most were recovered, the complaint said.
Thefts around campus
Over the weekend, there was a series of robberies in Moos Tower and the Mayo Building, said University of Minnesota Police Department Deputy Chief Chuck Miner .
A computer was reported stolen from a desk drawer in Moos Tower, he said, where police also located a stolen duffle bag.
Next door in the Mayo Building, Miner said a wallet was stolen.
Tate Theft
A former University student, 23, and current University student, 21, stole concrete bricks from the Tate Lab of Physics, Miner said.
Miner said the two — who were under the influence of alcohol — said they wanted to keep the bricks as a memento of the time they spent in Tate.
Neither were arrested or charged with a crime, he said.
