Student robbed of $100 in own apartment

and Brett Levinson A College sophomore was robbed of $150 at gunpoint yesterday morning in his apartment on the 4000 block of Pine Street while his three roommates slept unaware in adjoining rooms, according to University Police Capt. John Richardson. The student, who did not wish to be identified, said he was walking home alone from Van Pelt Library at about 3 a.m. Moments before reaching his apartment, the student said a man stepped out of the vestibule of a neighboring apartment and approached him. After the student refused to give the man cigarettes, the man pulled what appeared to be a snub-nose revolver from his jacket and asked the student for his money. When the student told the assailant he was not carrying any money, the man insisted the sophomore take him to his apartment. Ironically, the student said he noticed a Philadelphia Police patrol car parked outside of his apartment building. "There's a cop but you are not going to say anything or I'll blow your head off," the sophomore recalled the robber saying. Acting on the robber's instructions, the student opened the door to his apartment and led the robber to his first-floor bedroom. The student said the robber stayed close behind him, allowing the student no opportunity to escape or signal the nearby police officer for help. The robber seemed "jumpy," the student said, adding that upon entering the room the man took the phone off the hook to ensure no one would call the police. The student said he reached in a drawer and gave the robber about $100 in cash. The man then attempted to force the student to leave the apartment with him. The student said he held the door open for the man and as he stepped outside, the student locked the robber out. The student then ran to phone and called 911. Philadelphia and University Police arrived within five minutes, but were unable to apprehend the robber. The student described the suspect as a 30-year-old black male, 5 foot 7 inches tall with a medium build and dark complexion. The man was wearing a royal-blue windbreaker, dark jeans and tennis shoes. Police suspect the assailant may have been lurking in the nearby vestibule of 4023 Pine, which is often unlocked. Wharton junior Nancy Silva, a resident of 4023 Pine, seemed shocked by the robbery. She said she has never seen anyone waiting in the vestibule and that she other residents rarely lock the outer door. "Living on this street gives you a false sense of security," Silva said, adding that she will try to lock the door from now on. Despite the danger of the situation, the College sophomore said he remained calm throughout the robbery. "I wasn't even that scared when it happened," he said, noting that he often walks home alone late at night and has been mugged previously in New York City. "I was threatened, but I was not really afraid for my life like I thought I would have been."

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