Pitt police take juvenile into custody following cell phone theft

Pitt police took a juvenile into custody Thursday for allegedly stealing a cell phone belonging to a Pitt student, police said Friday.

Pitt police will not name the individual because he was under 18 years old, but officers arrested him around 7 p.m. in North Oakland Thursday, according to Pitt spokesperson John Fedele. Police have charged the juvenile with conspiracy to commit theft and resisting arrest. Fedele did not say whether or not a judge had set a preliminary hearing date.

The arrest follows a crime alert the Pitt police issued Thursday, Oct. 15 after an unnamed victim reported that three black men stole his unattended cell phone from the Pitt intramural athletic fields located off of Robinson Street Extension. The man police arrested was one of the three, according to the alert.

Police described the other two men connected to the robbery as short, juvenile black men. One of the suspects has “tall hair,” and was wearing a gray hoodie, camouflage jogging pants and “Jordan” tennis shoes, the alert said. The other suspect was wearing a black long sleeve shirt and black and yellow tennis shoes at the time of the theft.

The theft is the third in a string of incidents at the intramural fields. On Sept. 27  and Oct. 5, Pitt Police responded to reports of thefts at the fields. In both cases, victims told police someone took their unattended cellphones while they were playing on the fields. Pitt police believe the same individuals committed all three thefts.

Police are asking anyone who has information regarding this incident to call Pitt police at 412-624-2121.