Student robbed outside King's Court/English House

University Police arrested three suspects after an officer in an unmarked car witnessed the incident. University Police chased down and arrested three men Friday who allegedly mugged a student outside King's Court/English House just minutes earlier. The student, a freshman who lives in the dormitory, said he was walking alone on Sansom Street at approximately midnight when two black men -- one he described as short and stocky, the other tall -- shoved him against the building's wall and demanded his money. After the suspects stole the student's wallet and fled the scene, Detective Joseph Hasara -- who had witnessed the entire incident from an unmarked police vehicle -- and several other University Police officers pursued the men by car and on foot, apprehending two of the suspects at 38th and Sansom streets and the third at 37th and Chestnut streets. Police charged the suspects with robbery, criminal conspiracy and related charges. The incident was classified as a strong-arm robbery because the suspects did not use a weapon. The student, who was not injured in the incident, said he was walking home from a movie at Cinemagic 3 when he encountered the men. "They basically told me that I had to shut up and give them my money," the student said. One of the suspects used the victim's umbrella to obscure the scene while other students walked by, and ordered him to pretend they were just asking him some questions, the student said, adding that he did not know whether the men had any weapons. When the student handed over his wallet, the suspects noticed it was empty and continued to question him. "The short guy said, 'Where's the money?' I said, 'I swear I don't have any money'," the student explained. At that time, the suspects, perhaps having seen some of the University Police Officers, "started walking very fast," the student said. After a frantic chase lasting several minutes, police apprehended two suspects near the 7-Eleven store at 38th and Sansom streets and a third -- who was allegedly to drive the getaway car -- in front of International House at 37th and Chestnut streets. A University Police officer drove the student to each of the arrest locations, but the student was only able to identify one of the perpetrators because he did not get a good look at the other two. Still, Philadelphia Police Detectives who questioned the student told him they have an "airtight" case against the suspects because Hasara witnessed the entire incident and police found the student's wallet on one of the suspects. Sgt. Tim Trucksess said he could not release the names of the suspects, but police said the alleged getaway vehicle was a 1990 Toyota Camry registered to Anthony and Shirley Brown of West Philadelphia. The car's registration had been suspended for insurance violations. The student, who will eventually testify in court against the suspects, said he was "really impressed" by the speed of the University Police response, but warned that the area in front of King's Court/English House may not be as safe as most students believe it is. "Generally, everyone thinks that they're safe on Sansom," the student said, citing security guards at his dormitory and the neighboring Law School.