In the first armed robbery of an RPI student in Troy in recent history, two students walking along Sherry Road Thursday night were mugged at gun- and knife-point at approximately 10:15 pm. The students fled the scene after turning over $13, and were pursued by the thieves, but were able to escape and contact Public Safety. Since it took place on a city street, the case has been turned over to the Troy Police, which has not yet made any arrests.
“The students are to be commended. They reacted very well,” said Director of Public Safety Bernard Drobnicki. “They took flight and went to where there were people.” He said the best way to deal with these situations is to comply with an assaulter’s demands, then escape as quickly as possibly.
The two students, while walking back to the Burdett Avenue Residence Hall, were passed by three white males dressed in black sweatshirts, one of which asked the two victims if they had the time. When they stopped, one of the thieves pulled a gun, another a knife, and then wallets and valuables were demanded.
“This seems like a normal modus operandi in the area,” Drobnicki said of this tactic of asking for the time. Police in the area have seen it many times in robberies in the Capital District.
After one of the victims gave the thieves 13 dollars, and the other said he didn’t have anything, the two fled the scene, one in the direction of People’s Avenue and a nearby residence, the other first towards the Pi Beta Phi house and then up to BARH. Both were followed by their assailants, and one lost a shoe, but there was no further incident.
The robbery occurred at approximately the mid-point of Sherry Road, near house number 15. Sherry is the road that extends from the Rensselaer Society of Engineers’ house to BARH.
The thieves were described as about 18 to 21 years of age, and thin. Two were said to be between 5’8” and 5’10”, while the third was closer to six feet. Troy police found three individuals later that night on 8th Street that fit this description and stopped them, but did not have enough information at that time to justify arrest.
“They were doing everything right,” said Drobnicki of the victims. “Two individuals, walking together in a well lit area.” He went on to caution students against changing their habits too much because of the warmer weather and the end of semester crunch. Drobnicki emphasized that even though students can comfortably walk around at night now, they should still make use of programs such as the Red Hawk shuttles, CDTA, and the Public Safety escort service to prevent incidents like this.
The robbery comes at a time when Public Safety is in the process of hiring five to six new officers in order to have a greater presence on campus and in the area. Upon examining statistics from recent years, they discovered that the lowest crime rates were from a time when the department had taken on volunteers in a “community policing” initiative, and is trying to bring the department up to those numbers again.
Anyone who believes they might have seen individuals fitting the description of the thieves, or has any other information, is encouraged to call Troy Police at 270-4426.
