A crime alert sent Saturday evening warned students of an armed robbery near the site of the former Vito’s Pizza, but Prince George’s County District 1 Commander Maj. Hector Velez said yesterday the incident was “a drug deal gone bad.”
Police received a report that a non-student victim’s phone and personal property were stolen around 7:45 p.m., but after an investigation, police determined the victim was trying to sell marijuana to the other two suspects, Velez said.
The three suspects — none of whom are students at this university, Velez said — met at 7313 Baltimore Ave. behind the site for the exchange. Two suspects stole the drugs and the victim’s phone and fled the scene, Velez said.
“This was not a true victim walking down the street who was targeted by a criminal. It was a criminal who had things taken by other criminals,” Velez said. “If you have an innocent student walking home from class who is approached by someone holding a gun to his head, it’s not the same as a person who was voluntarily putting himself into a potentially dangerous situation.”
Velez could not specify the quantity of marijuana, but said it was enough for police to determine the victim was a drug dealer.
Despite original reports that the robbery was armed, Velez said police have not been able to confirm that any weapons were involved.
Velez said he could not reveal the identities of the three men because the investigation is ongoing and charges against them have not been finalized.
Initially, the victim was hesitant to cooperate with police, but Velez said he is now obliging. Velez added that police made the victim pledge to be honest throughout the rest of the investigation, including coming clean with his parents.
“He has agreed to do this, because this is a situation in which the victim’s own actions led to his interaction with these individuals,” Velez said.
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