Attack part of wave of weekend crime

University Police are increasing plainclothes patrols off campus after a weekend in which seven University students and one University employee were mugged in five separate incidents. Commissioner John Kuprevich said he has decided to deploy the University's plainclothes unit for 12-hour shifts in the areas affected by the recent wave of crimes. And University Police placed two additional officers in a new "tactical beat," scheduled from 12 p.m. to 3 a.m effective yesterday. The two officers will cover problem areas around the University, Kuprevich said, adding that the more intensive patrols will increase the department's overtime costs. Kuprevich said he feels the officers will be able to cope with the new strain placed on them by the more frequent patrols and increased shifts. Kuprevich said he was "just not sure," why so many incidents occurred over the weekend. But a bulletin released by the department cited this period of the year as a time when crime generally increases. In the first mugging, a University student was confronted by a man brandishing a gun on the 4100 block of Walnut Thursday afternoon. Police said the man forced his way into her apartment and held her hostage for approximately an hour, Lieutenant Susan Holmes said. The student reported at 4 p.m. that the man left her unharmed, taking her video-cassette recorder, a gold ring and cash, Holmes said. The man was about 25 years old, five feet, 10-inches tall, had a dark complexion and wore a beige coat, police said. In a second gunpoint robbery, two female students and one male student were robbed of their wallets and credit cards on the 3400 block of Walnut Street at 1:44 a.m. Friday, Holmes said. The male attacker was six feet, two inches tall and was last seen wearing a white nylon jacket and dark jeans. He fled north on Walnut Street in a two-door white Oldsmobile Cutlass, police said. University Police also responded to a gunpoint robbery of a University employee by two males of $47 on the eastbound side of the 36th Street SEPTA concourse at 1:34 p.m. Saturday, Holmes said. The first man was about five feet, seven inches tall and wore a yellow or orange ski jacket with a cap and carried the gun. A second man was five feet, nine inches tall, was light complected and had a mustache. In an unrelated incident, two female students were robbed at the point of a "simulated weapon" on 41st Street between Chestnut and Walnut streets at about 11:30 p.m. Thursday, police said. The attacker stole $5 from the students and fled leaving them uninjured. The man was six feet, two inches tall, weighed 190 pounds, and had a dark complexion. He was last seen wearing an earring in his left ear and a red jacket with a blue stripe. A University pre-med student was robbed at the point of a simulated weapon and was struck in the face and injured on the 4200 block of Sansom Street at 3 a.m. yesterday, police said. The student was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The attacker had short cropped hair and was last seen wearing a black leather jacket and dark pants. The attacker stole a set of keys. University Police also responded to several other incidents over the weekend, including: · A man was stopped and cited by police for carrying a B.B. pellet gun on the 4200 block of Spruce Street at 12:10 p.m. Saturday. · A house on the 4200 block of Pine was robbed at 1:49 a.m. Friday. The burglar gained access through a rear basement window. · A third-floor apartment was burglarized on the 4051 block of Spruce Street at about 4 p.m. Thursday.

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