Two men were arrested Monday in connection with the armed robbery of four students over Spring Fling weekend.
Matthew Addison, 18, and Derrick Newton, 20, were charged with multiple counts of robbery, theft, assault and other related charges. They are both North Philadelphia residents.
The two males allegedly drove up on the 4000 block of Irving Street at approximately 1:15 a.m. on April 16, when they proceeded to get out of the car and rob two students at gunpoint.
As they walked toward 41st Street, they encountered two more students who they robbed in a similar fashion at approximately 1:20 a.m.
The students were unable to call police until they reached their homes, so officers arrived too late to apprehend the criminals.
Several hours later, at approximately 11 a.m., a similar robbery was committed in North Philadelphia, again at gunpoint.
"Police got there in time, and [the suspects] were arrested," Deputy Chief of Investigations Bill Danks said.
University of Pennsylvania Police detectives investigating the Irving Street robberies were able to confirm that the suspects were the same people.
"We were able to look at all robberies that occurred in Philadelphia that day," Danks said. "They found that the descriptions were identical and the car was similar."
Since Addison and Newton were arrested for the North Philadelphia incident, University Police have been in the process of obtaining warrants for their arrest. Detectives picked them up at a hearing for that crime Monday, and they were both arrested and taken to the University Police station, according to Danks.
These robberies were the only serious incidents to occur during Fling weekend. Police issued more citations for alcohol law violations than last year, and there were more alcohol-related hospital cases.
