University police arrested a suspect of at least two Westwood robberies Tuesday morning.
The suspect, Christopher Taylor of Los Angeles, was arrested on suspicion of attempted robbery at 8:10 a.m., said Nancy Greenstein, director of community services for university police.
Taylor is not a UCLA student or affiliated with the university, she added.
UCPD received reports of Taylor confronting a UCLA staff member walking in the North Village near Levering and Strathmore Avenues, Greenstein said.
He subsequently displayed a handgun, which was later found to be a replica and not loaded, and demanded the staff member’s iPod, according to a UCPD crime alert notice.
After university police were notified by the staff member of the alleged robbery, they pursued Taylor and stopped him in a 2000 silver Chevy Monte Carlo vehicle, the notice said.
UCPD stopped Taylor near Veteran and Kinross Avenues and then proceeded to detain him, Greenstein said.
Greenstein said that later on Tuesday another woman reported to UCPD that she was a victim of an attempted robbery that also took place Tuesday morning.
“Her description of the suspect fit the description of the person we arrested,” Greenstein said.
Greenstein added that in this case Taylor allegedly tried to take the victim’s purse but was unsuccessful. The victim refused to hand over her purse, though Greenstein said in most cases it is best to simply relinquish belongings that are being stolen because normally, giving a robber whatever he or she is asking for can prevent further confrontation.
Greenstein said this arrest is related to a recent trend of arrests, both at UCLA and at colleges in general.
“This goes back to what we’ve been talking about ““ that people need to be aware of their surroundings,” she said.
“In both cases, iPods were stolen,” she added.
A national trend shows that robbers have been targeting students for portable electronics, according to a UCPD statement.
Since January, 25 robberies have been reported to UCPD.
There were five arrests made on suspicion of robbery last month in North Village and around the UCLA campus, according to the statement.
Though many robberies and attempted robberies have occurred recently, Greenstein said that UCPD has the situation under control and is continuously working to ensure the safety of students on campus and in the Westwood area.
She said, “The reality is people have come to our area to commit crimes against our constituents, and we have a really good track record of containing them.”