CAMPUS BRIEFS: Friday, February 7, 1997

Baskin Robbins robbed at gunpoint last night University and Philadelphia Police officers apprehended the suspect approximately two hours later at 36th and Preston streets, according to Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush. She added that he was positively identified at the scene and taken to the Philadelphia Police Department's Southwest Detectives Bureau for arraignment. Baskin Robbins manager Eric Yates said two employees were working when the suspect walked behind the counter. When one employee told the suspect he was not allowed there, the suspect brandished a gun and ordered the employee to open the cash register. The entire robbery -- which Yates said was the first at the store since he purchased it in November 1993 --was caught on the store's video security camera. The suspect robbed the popular campus location of less than $100 in cash, all in $5 and $10 bills, Yates said. The suspect then fled east on Walnut Street. Detectives from the University and Philadelphia Police departments began scouring the area shortly after the robbery, Rush said. And after receiving "instrumental help" from Philadelphia Police Detective Mike Roche and Lt. Joe Maxwell, Rush said University Police Officer Mike Sylvester made the arrest. Police refused to release the suspect's name pending his arraignment, which was expected for early this morning. The incident is the first robbery of a campus retail establishment in approximately one month, according to University Police records. -- Scott Lanman