Oakland robbers act again
April 24, 2009
Police are seeking the people responsible for five armed robberies that have
occured in… Police are seeking the people responsible for five armed robberies that have
occured in Oakland this week.
The most recent robbery occurred last night at the corner of Schenley Drive
and Frew Street, near the CMU campus. Another was reported on Howe Street in
Shadyside.
These robberies come after three other armed robberies that have occured in
the past three days.
People were robbed on the corner of Bigelow Boulevard and Bayard Street, by
the Chevron Science Center, and near the intersection of Bates Street and
Oakland Avenue Tuesday night.
Another robbery happened on the corner of Semple Street shortly after
midnight Wednesday.
‘They’re getting ATM cards, iPods, whatever they can get off the kids,’ said
Pitt police chief Tim Delaney. The robbers asked one victim for his car
keys, he added.
Delaney said that none of the victims, at least two of which may have been
Pitt students, required hospitalization, but one was pushed to the ground.
Detective Donald Pasquarelli, of the city police, said he believes that two
people – a black man between 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-10 inches tall and another
black man between 6-foot and 6-foot-2-inches tall – are responsible for the
first three robberies. He said police think that the shorter of the two
suspects carried the weapon, a black handgun.
Delaney said it looks like the same men may have been responsible for the
latest two robberies, but that he wouldn’t rule out the idea of copycats
doing them either.
He said these cases may be difficult to solve because ‘we’re losing a lot of
students here,’ because they’re moving back home for the summer. ‘We’re
losing a lot of witnesses,’ he said.
Delaney declined to go into specific detail about how the police are
searching for these individuals, because he didn’t want to interfere with
the investigation. He did say, however, that Pitt police are teaming with
the plainsclothes officers from the city police as well as CMU police to
catch the robbers.
Police are seeking the people responsible for five armed robberies that have
occured in Oakland this week.
The most recent robbery occurred last night at the corner of Schenley Drive
and Frew Street, near the CMU campus. Another was reported on Howe Street in
Shadyside.
These robberies come after three other armed robberies that have occured in
the past three days.
People were robbed on the corner of Bigelow Boulevard and Bayard Street, by
the Chevron Science Center, and near the intersection of Bates Street and
Oakland Avenue Tuesday night.
Another robbery happened on the corner of Semple Street shortly after
midnight Wednesday.
‘They’re getting ATM cards, iPods, whatever they can get off the kids,’ said
Pitt police chief Tim Delaney. The robbers asked one victim for his car
keys, he added.
Delaney said that none of the victims, at least two of which may have been
Pitt students, required hospitalization, but one was pushed to the ground.
Detective Donald Pasquarelli, of the city police, said he believes that two
people – a black man between 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-10 inches tall and another
black man between 6-foot and 6-foot-2-inches tall – are responsible for the
first three robberies. He said police think that the shorter of the two
suspects carried the weapon, a black handgun.
Delaney said it looks like the same men may have been responsible for the
latest two robberies, but that he wouldn’t rule out the idea of copycats
doing them either.
He said these cases may be difficult to solve because ‘we’re losing a lot of
students here,’ because they’re moving back home for the summer. ‘We’re
losing a lot of witnesses,’ he said.
Delaney declined to go into specific detail about how the police are
searching for these individuals, because he didn’t want to interfere with
the investigation. He did say, however, that Pitt police are teaming with
the plainsclothes officers from the city police as well as CMU police to
catch the robbers.