Police have made another arrest in conjunction with the recent string of robberies around campus.
Derrick Rooker, a 21-year-old male unaffiliated with the University, was arrested on Friday at his attorney's office in connection with an armed robbery on 41st and Spruce streets on Sept. 17 and one on the 4200 block of Pine Street on Aug. 29, according to Police Chief Thomas Rambo.
He was charged with robbery and other related offenses.
Rooker is allegedly one of three men who robbed a male student at gunpoint early on the morning of Sept. 17 on the 4100 block of Spruce Street at around 12:18, according to University Police.
After the incident, Vice President of Public Safety Maureen Rush said that the student had been walking westbound on Spruce and 41st streets when three men came up to him.
"They pointed a gun at him and told him to keep walking, and then they grabbed him, threw him against the wall and went into his pockets and took his wallet and his backpack. Before they left, they punched him in the jaw," Rush said.
Though the student was not hospitalized, he did sustain "minor injuries to his face," Rush said. The items taken from him were valued at approximately $140.
On Oct. 8, Jason Garner, also 21 and unaffiliated with the University, was arraigned in connection with the same robbery. He was charged with "robbery, violation of the Uniform Firearms Act and other related offenses," Rambo said after his arrest. One of the suspects in the case still remains at large.
Rooker was also charged in connection with a second robbery, also of a University student. It occurred on the 4200 block of Pine on Aug. 29 at an unknown time.
Rooker turned himself in at his attorney's office, where the police issued a warrant and took him into custody, Rambo said.
Police received reports of at least 15 robberies since the beginning of the academic year. Although police investigations are still ongoing, suspects have been arrested in at least four of the incidents.
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