Buffalo residents Angorit I. Garner and Walter J. Terrell were arrested early Monday morning and charged on Tuesday for the Sunday robberies of four UB students near Parker and Hayes Halls on South Campus, according to Director of Public Safety John Grela.
Garner and Terrell, both 20, are unaffiliated with UB. They were charged with possession of a weapon, loitering on school grounds and possession of stolen property, Grela said.
"They were stopped by an active patrol," Grela said. "They were actually coming up to some students on campus when they were noticed by a patrol. Campus police then interceded and made the arrests."
Following the robbery of their wallets and cell phones, the four UB students gave campus police descriptions of the two suspects who robbed them. According to Grela, Garner and Terrell, both of whom already have criminal records, matched the students' descriptions.
"From what I understand it was flash of a weapon and 'Give me your money,'" Grela said."
No one was injured during the two robberies.
According to Grela, there have also been three similar robberies in the University Heights, but campus police are "not sure in this point in time if it's the same individuals."
"The Buffalo Police Department is investigating that with us," he said.
In the meantime, Grela urged students to take note of the safety tips included in an e-mail sent out by campus police through University Residence Halls and Apartments. Listed among the E-mail's advice: walk in well lit areas, be aware of surroundings, walk in groups, be familiar with blue light phones on campus, and report suspicious activity to campus police at 645-2222.
Although this week's robberies may have reminded some students of the gunpoint kidnappings on South Campus last fall, Grela declined to call either incident part of a trend because it is impossible to predict the ebb and flow of crime.
"We've had armed robberies on both campuses over the years," he said. "Normally when it happens we make an arrest and we don't have any more problems."
"In the past," he added, "many times students have been targeted because they were dealing or buying drugs, and they were robbed on both campuses. I don't believe drugs were involved in these incidents."
Despite the robberies, most students said such crimes wouldn't deter them from going to South Campus.
"It's kind of to be expected, especially near the city, but you can't blow it out of proportion, because it happens everywhere," said Aaron Henderson, a freshman architecture major who has most of his classes on South Campus.
Henderson said he didn't consider robbery as only a South Campus problem, but thought students are less surprised when it happens there, as opposed to on North Campus.
Aside from the robberies, Grela said students always have to expect a certain amount of crime early in the semester, such as burglaries that occur when students leave their dorm rooms open.
