Athens-Clarke County police have stepped up patrols and are offering a reward to solve a series of armed robberies that occurred in March, half of which involved University of Georgia victims, including a professor, The Athens Banner-Herald reported.
Police are not certain all the robberies are connected but in some of the attacks between March 17-26 robbers pistol-whipped their victims, the newspaper said.
“We would ask citizens to continue using safe practices, like not walking at night alone, and instead walking in groups,” said Mark Sizemore, commander of the police investigative unit, told the newspaper.
The newspaper listed the robberies as including:
• March 17: Two males robbed two University of Georgia students walking home on West Hancock Avenue near North Chase Street. One bandit wielded a knife and the other appeared to hide a handgun inside a pillowcase.
• March 19: Two teens accosted a man on College Station Road as he walked to his home on Soule Street. One teen reportedly brandished a semiautomatic handgun and struck the victim in the head with it.
• March 19: Two robbers forced their way into a home on Julious Drive, telling the victim to “give it up” while pistol-whipping him. The victim reportedly struggled and the bandits shot at the house as they fled. Evidence from the West Hancock Avenue robbery was recovered nearby,
• March 23: A UGA student walking in the area of North Thomas and East Dougherty streets was approached by a man from behind who asked for a cigarette. The student told police the man made her uncomfortable, so she pretended to talk on her cellphone. When she noticed two other males approaching, the student screamed and ran to a friend’s apartment to call 911. Witnesses who heard the screaming reported seeing the males running in the opposite direction from the student.
• Also on March 23, soon after the UGA student was accosted and not far away on North Jackson Street, a UGA professor was robbed after parking her car. She told police a male concealing his face with a T-shirt approached her and demanded, “Give me everything you got,” then pulled a handgun from his pants waistband. Two more robbers, also with disguised faces, then emerged from concealed positions. They fled with the professor’s purse, cellphone and backpack toward Bethel Midtown Village.
• March 24: A UGA student was grabbed and struck in the head by two armed robbers when they accosted her near the corner of East Broad and Arch streets. Police said robbers ran when they saw an officer in the area.
• March 26: As man and woman walked on North Billups Street near Reese Street at about 8:45 p.m., police said, two men armed with handguns approached from behind and told them to “give it up.” The victims told police as they continued to walk, one man said to the other, “Shoot him.” They then heard a gunshot and believed the suspect fired his weapon.
Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest in any of these cases. People can anonymously pass along their information over the confidential tip line by calling 706- 613-3342.
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