A person walking in the College Area near San Diego State University was robbed of a cellphone early Saturday – the latest in a wave of crimes to hit the area in recent weeks.
The San Diego Police Department said the pedestrian was robbed just before 1:30 a.m. along 53rd Street. The victim was intoxicated, police said, and suffered minor abrasions in the incident. The suspect fled before police arrived.
On Thursday (Feb. 28) afternoon, the SDSU Police Department released a bulletin alerting students of another robbery, this time at 12:45 a.m. Thursday at 5500 Montezuma Rd. In that case, two armed suspects stole a wallet from a victim. One suspect – armed with a pistol – robbed the victim while the second suspect waited in a getaway car described as a white Toyota Prius. The pair were last seen heading south on toward College Avenue.
Before that incident, SDSU police had been investigating three other recent robberies in the College Area: one on Feb. 23, one on Feb. 20 and another on Feb. 17.
In a public safety video featuring SDSU Police Chief Josh Mays posted on Twitter Thursday by university police, the chief confirmed investigators had identified the suspects involved in the Feb. 17 burglary, which took place on campus between 12:50 a.m. and 1:20 a.m.
Those suspects were captured on surveillance video and those images led police to the suspects, the SDSU Police Department told NBC 7 earlier this week.
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Meanwhile, Mays said police have recovered a gun and identified possible suspects involved in the Feb. 20 incident, which was an armed robbery off campus, in the north alley of 5500 Montezuma Road.
Mays said police are still actively searching for the suspects involved in the Feb. 23 robbery, in which the suspects stole a cellphone from a victim off campus, in the 5600 block of Faber Way.
In the video posted on Twitter, Mays said the Feb. 28 robbery does not appear to be connected to any of the others.
“At this time, we have no reason to believe this specific incident is connected to other recent crimes,” he said.
For now, Mays said university police are deploying extra patrols in the areas of concern near the campus.
The chief encouraged locals to sign up for a personal safety and awareness workshop that covers hands-on self-defense training and offered a few safety tips.
He said people should walk in groups whenever possible and remain alert and avoid distractions while walking. He also urged locals to use well-lit streets and paths and avoid walking in alleys and avoid pulling out electronics or flashing personal property while walking.
The SDSU Police Department said any suspicious activity can be reported to investigators at (619) 594-1991.
Last September, a string of robberies near SDSU left students on edge. Two of those robberies happened just one block apart, on the same day.
