Two robberies that occurred last week on the west side of campus
appear to be similar to a string of armed robberies that occurred
over the summer, police said.
In the early morning of Oct. 4, two UCLA students were robbed on
the west side of campus in two separate confrontations. No injuries
were reported in either of the incidents, according to a UCPD
report.
At approximately 1 a.m. on the 400 block of Kelton Avenue, a
suspect who was described as a 20- to 25-year-old Latino man
wearing a dark-colored beanie cap and a blue-gray shirt, approached
the victim armed with a handgun and demanded the victim’s
property.
The suspect then fled the scene of the crime with the
victim’s wallet.
About an hour later, a second robbery occurred at the
intersection of Levering and Glenrock avenues.
The suspect, who was described as a black male wearing a black
hooded shirt and dark pants, approached the victim armed with a
handgun and demanded everything the victim had.
The victim handed over a nylon backpack and ran away from the
crime scene as directed by the suspect.
Both crimes were reported to the Los Angeles Police
Department.
“We are treating the reports very seriously,” said
Nancy Greenstein, a spokeswoman for the UCPD.
According to a press release from LAPD issued Aug. 16, 12
robberies have occurred in the vicinity of the UCLA campus and the
Westwood area between May and August of this year. There has been a
total of 14 robberies to date.
The majority of the robberies have occurred between 10 p.m. and
12:30 a.m. between Fridays and Sundays.
Most of the victims have been UCLA students, and the suspects
from the summer robberies fit a similar description as those
described in the robberies last week.
Greenstein said the suspects from the summer robberies have not
yet been found.
She said she suspects the reason why the robberies had stopped
for a while was due to the media coverage. Many local media outlets
covered this story over the summer.
“(UCPD and LAPD) are working together on the larger
issue,” Greenstein said, regarding the robberies on the west
side of campus over the past several months.
Greenstein said UCPD is doing “special operations”
in the area where the robberies have occurred.
She said every time a crime is reported, the information is used
to patrol accordingly.
Greenstein said there were no new updates from LAPD as of Friday
afternoon.
“I don’t think LAPD has anyone in custody
yet,” Greenstein said.
Detectives at the West Los Angeles Police Department were not
available for comment.
Some students are concerned about the robberies and are taking
extra precautions when going out late at night.
Pooja Patel, a second-year international economics student, said
she is avoiding going out late at night, especially by herself.
Patel said when she does have to go to the apartments at night,
she tries to go with other people to avoid the walk back to the
dorms alone.
“But this isn’t something that individuals can
prevent. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to
happen,” Patel said.
Housing and UCPD are not concerned that the robberies may spread
to the Hill.
Director of Housing Michael Foraker said Housing has worked with
UCPD, which is continuing its usual patrols.
“The Hill has dedicated officers so there is always (a)
patrol (there). Because of the large number of people on the Hill
and all the patrol, it would be unlikely for someone to target the
Hill,” Greenstein said.
There are no immediate plans to increase security on the Hill,
she added.
Greenstein said she encourages students to take advantage of the
Community Service Officer escort program, which is free for
students, faculty, staff and visitors, and available 365 days a
year from dusk until 1 a.m.
CSOs escort callers between campus buildings, local living areas
and Westwood Village within the boundaries of Wilshire Boulevard to
the south, Sunset Boulevard to the north, Hilgard Avenue to the
east and Veteran Avenue to the west.
In addition to using the CSO escort program, Greenstein said she
encourages students to program the UCPD dispatch number into their
cell phone, since UCPD can respond much faster than the LAPD.
For more information on UCLA CSO Escort Services, call (310)
794-WALK. UCPD dispatch can be reached at (310) 825-1492.