A pair of off-campus robberies over the weekend has further extended a violent crime trend that has plagued the city recently, despite progress in combating the spree with eight robbery arrests made last month.
Prince George’s County Police spokeswoman Cpl. Diane Richardson said the weekend robberies, which took place near the College Park Metro station about 8 p.m. Saturday and at the College Park Convenience Store on College Avenue about 2 p.m. Sunday, each featured two men who pointed weapons at victims and demanded cash.
In the Saturday robbery, which took place on the 7300 block of 50th Avenue near River Road and Paint Branch Parkway, a man was approached near the Metro station by two men who held him at gunpoint and demanded cash. In the Sunday robbery, two gunmen who initially acted as though they were customers produced handguns and robbed two clerks at the College Avenue convenience store. Employees at the store last night said they had not been informed by the owner of the robberies.
But according to an e-mailed crime alert sent out by University Police to the campus community yesterday, victims in each incident reported descriptions of men that did not match one another, and Richardson said police did not believe the incidents were perpetrated by the same suspects.
On January 6, four suspects were arrested who later confessed to six area robberies of students, highlighting the ability of criminals to target multiple subjects as they travel the city. Police said the arrests were made as a result of a robbery suppression team that had been monitoring the area.
Richardson said she did not know whether the team was still working in the area, but said police would assign more manpower to the area to quell any apparent spikes in specific types of crime.
“We always have detectives and patrol officers who see if trends are developing,” Richardson said. “If we continue to see trends, we’ll take action in that area.”
The weekend arrests of two men who threatened two students from a car by pointing a gun at them underscores the continuing problem of students affected by violent crime that has plagued the county over the past year. Last year, Prince George’s County saw a record-high number of homicides, and University Police tallied an 11-year high number of on-campus robberies.
Each robbery over the weekend follows previous trends as well. The robbery near the Metro was similar to a slew of robberies last summer near the station. Residents have long complained at community meetings the station attracts crime because it provides a quick escape for suspects.
The convenience store robbery, which took place in broad daylight, is similar to a robbery last summer which took place in the morning as a woman walked to the Metro on her way to work. Police at the time noted the unusual time of day the robbery took place, and citizens were shaken by what they called a brazen crime perpetrated in an area known to have been affected by the county’s police shortages.
Contact reporter Kevin Litten at littendbk@gmail.com.
