The string of on and off-campus robberies continued Monday night when a Syracuse University graduate student and his companion were robbed on the 100 block of Fellows Avenue at 7:30 p.m. Monday, said Sgt. Tom Connellan of the Syracuse Police Department.

Police have no indication that the robbers Monday night were the same men who committed the robberies on Sept. 7 and 9, Connellan said.

The robbery is the fourth in four weeks. No one was injured in any of the incidents.

The couple robbed Monday night was walking on Fellows Avenue in the Wescott Street area when two men approached them from behind, Connellan said. One man pulled a two-inch knife and demanded money. He took $40 from them, and both robbers fled the scene.

Connellan said the graduate student described the first suspect as male, black, 5 feet 8 inches tall, thin build, unknown age and was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt. He said the student said the other assailant was male, black, 6 feet tall, unknown age and wore a black hooded sweatshirt.

Police have concluded that the description of Monday’s robbers does not match the men described in the Sept. 7 and 9 robberies. The weapon used is also different from the one used in two of the robberies, Connellan said.

‘These guys had a little folding switch blade, not a gun. We have no indication at this time that they are the same suspects,’ he said.

The case is still under investigation, and there are currently no suspects. SU’s Department of Public Safety and SPD are still investigating the earlier robberies, too, Connellan said.

Connellan said it’s not unusual to have a robbery as early as 7:30 p.m. He said that SPD and DPS cars are stationed near Westcott all night long.

‘It’s dark at that point; we’ve seen this before,’ Connellan said.

Joel Kaplan, associate dean at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, alerted graduate students of the robbery in an e-mail sent at 12:22 p.m. Tuesday. DPS sent a public safety notice to the university community Tuesday at 7:11 p.m., informing them of the incident and reminding students of safety precautions.

On Sept. 7, a State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry student was robbed at gunpoint at 9:21 p.m. in the rear parking lot of 101 Smith Lane, just south of the SU campus.

Less than an hour later, an SU student was robbed as he walked behind Heroy Geology Laboratory on the SU campus at 10:15 p.m.

Two other ESF students were robbed at gunpoint at the 100 block of Judson Street near Westcott, Sept. 9 at 10:25 p.m.

The robbers on Sept. 7 and 9 had a similar description, but police declined to confirm definitively that they were the same two men.

‘People need to be vigilant until we identify who’s responsible for this,’ Connellan said. ‘We just advise people to walk in groups stay in well-lit areas. If anyone suspicious approaches, you want to get with other people. If you see something suspicious, you should report it.’

jmterrus@syr.edu

Published on September 29, 2009 at 12:00 pm