Weekend robberies appear connected

Two on-campus robberies of University students, both committed Sunday, may have been the work of a single man, Penn Deputy Chief of Investigations Thomas King said yesterday. The two incidents occurred relatively close together in time and location, and the students' descriptions of the suspect were very similar, according to Penn Det. Supervisor William Danks. Neither involved a weapon and neither victim, both females, was physically injured. Danks also said that the methods used in the two robberies were "very close, almost identical." "We think they're quite possibly connected," King said. Both victims described the robber as a black man in his 30s who was about 5'8" tall. The first incident occurred at 1:30 a.m. Sunday, when a female University student was walking on the 3400 block of Walnut Street. The student reported that she was approached by a man who asked her for money. When she refused and began to walk away, the man grabbed her purse, removed her wallet, took $60 in cash and returned the wallet. The second incident occurred at about 6:10 p.m. the same day, when a female University student was walking on the 3600 block of Hamilton Walk, behind the Quadrangle. The student reported that she, too, was approached by a man who asked her for money. When the student refused, the man pulled her backpack off her shoulder and fled. The backpack contained a PennCard, a credit card, a driver's license, two items of clothing, a purse and $15 in cash. In the first incident, the student reported that the man who took her money was clean-shaven. The student involved in the second robbery said the man who grabbed her backpack had some light stubble on his chin. King said chances are good the police will make an arrest in the two cases. "I'm actually cautiously optimistic about clearing these two," he said. Sunday's two incidents were the fourth and fifth non-retail robberies this semester. The other three robberies were in early September. All occurred just off campus, and one took place at gunpoint. There were also two retail robberies this month. Baskin Robbins at 3925 Walnut Street and Commerce Bank at 3731 Walnut Street were both robbed October 21 during the day. The two incidents did not appear to be connected, since the descriptions of the suspects were very different. Penn Police are still investigating the Baskin Robbins robbery, but the FBI is handling the bank robbery.