After a 21-year-old male student reported having a knife pulled on him at 2 a.m. yesterday, University Police arrested two men within minutes in conjunction with the attempted armed robbery, police said.
The student was walking along Lehigh Road near Panda when Bryan Kim, 22, of Baltimore, allegedly jumped out of a car, announced a robbery and pulled out a knife, University Police spokesman Capt. Marc Limansky said. The victim was able to run away before any of his property was stolen and was uninjured.
The victim saw Kim in the same car minutes later by the Regents Drive entrance to the campus and immediately reported the incident to a University Police aide – who are students who work in the department – in the entrance booth, Limansky said. The aide sent out a radio description of the suspects, and moments later an officer pulled over and arrested Kim and the driver of the vehicle just north of Paint Branch ParkKim and the driver of the vehicle just north of Paint Branch Parkway on Route 1, Limansky said.
Officers found illegal drugs and contraband in the vehicle, Limansky added.
Kim, who is not a student at this university, was arrested and charged with attempted armed robbery, attempted robbery, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, concealed deadly weapon, possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia.
According to official court documents, Kim has previously been charged with three counts of possession of marijuana and paraphernalia.
Joon Park, the driver of the vehicle, was also arrested. The 21-year-old from Centreville, Va., was charged with accessory to attempted armed robbery, attempted robbery, first-degree assault and second-degree assault. Park, who is not a student at this university, was also charged with the possession of marijuana and paraphernalia.
Park has previously been charged with possession of paraphernalia, court documents show.
Because the crime occurred in the primary jurisdiction of Prince George’s County Police, Kim and Park were transferred into the custody of that department for further investigation.
The swift arrest of the two subjects is a result of timely reporting, Limansky said.
“Within minutes of us being aware of the incident, we had the suspects in custody,” Limansky said. “It was just people doing things right. The victim reported it quickly, had a description, the officer then saw the car and arrested the suspects. It was a success story of sorts.”
Prince George’s County District 1 Commander Maj. Robert Brewer said the two suspects are still waiting to see the District Court commissioner and are being held in jail.
Because the incident occurred in the county department’s jurisdiction, county officers will continue to investigate yesterday’s incident, Brewer said.
Some students said they think a larger police presence could be beneficial in preventing these kinds of incidents.
“Even though nothing happened, this kind of thing can scare a student for a long time,” said junior finance and information systems major Raghav Ahuja. “It’s good that they acted so quickly and got them arrested so quickly, but they need to work on more preventive measures so it just doesn’t happen on a college campus.”
egan@umdbk.com
