Two men now in police custody assaulted and robbed a University student Tuesday morning. The incident is the latest in a string of robberies targeting University students this year.
A 22-year-old male graduate student was attacked while crossing a parking lot in the 2400 block of Arlington Blvd. around 1:00 a.m., Charlottesville Police Detective Jim Mooney said. The attackers struck his face and then drove off with his money.
“They beat him pretty badly,” Mooney said. “Then the suspects went off and committed a similar crime in [Albemarle] County.”
According to a press release, both crimes were similar in nature and had similar suspect descriptions.
After the second robbery Tuesday, Albemarle County Police Department officers chased down Christopher Daniel Williams, a 31-year-old Fluvanna County resident, and Jerome Antonio Johnson, a 28-year-old Albemarle County resident. Mooney said the suspects fled from police officers until their vehicle crashed near Fontaine Avenue, allowing officers to make arrests.
Because the assaulted student provided law enforcement officials with detailed descriptions of his attackers, Albemarle County Police Department officers were able to identify the two arrested men as potential suspects of the crime committed in Charlottesville. By yesterday afternoon, both City and County officials had charged the men with robbery and malicious wounding. They are currently being held without bond at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.
Although there have been at least three other robberies against University students this year, University Police Department Capt. Donald McGee said because the latest incident occurred off Grounds, his office only can provide limited support in terms of preventing or addressing crimes of a similar nature. University students also are urged to remain aware of their surroundings and should report any suspicious circumstances.
“We have a cooperative parole with the city,” he said, “but anything off University Grounds is out of our jurisdiction.”
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