UB students were notified Thursday morning of an armed robbery, but what actually happened was a drug deal gone wrong between six students.
Three students in Spaulding Quad, on the North Campus, called the University Police at 1:55 a.m. and lied, reporting that three males randomly entered one of their rooms and demanded cash, one with a gun.
After a full investigation, UPD determined that the three students who reported the robbery were having a party and selling drugs. Police think that after the party, three other students who attended came back and stole drugs from the party's hosts.
The three students who initially called lied several times to UPD officers, repeatedly changing their stories. The story they settled on was that they had a party earlier that night and three students came back to the dorm to rob them of drugs.
"It probably wasn't a really good idea to call us to report the robbery when they were doing something wrong themselves, selling drugs," said Gerald Schoenle, the chief of UPD. "I guess their hope was they were going to get these other guys caught, but that's still unclear to me because they've lied to us several times."
The three students who reported the initial robbery had possession of marijuana, as well as an unidentified controlled substance, which is still being investigated by the UPD. They were arrested for and charged with making a false written statement (a misdemeanor), criminal possession of a controlled substance (a misdemeanor), and unlawful possession of marijuana (a violation), according to a UB Alert Update.
In addition, all three students will be referred to the university's Student-Wide Judiciary.
In the alleged robbery, one suspect pulled up his shirt and displayed what appeared to be a gun, according to the initial UB Alert. However, UPD officers say it is now uncertain whether or not anyone had a gun due to the several lies the three students told them.
"We're still investigating that," Schoenle said.
The three students who stole the drugs from the three students who reported a robbery left the area on foot, and they still have not been identified.
"We have a few leads already, and we're asking anybody that might know [who they are] to come forward," Schoenle said.
UPD officers are glad that the robbery was not a random act of violence on campus.
"It's nice to know it was a targeted act, so there is no danger to anyone else on campus," Schoenle said.
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