Police investigate campus robberies and harassment

Two suspects believed to be involved in several recent armed robberies in Ithaca, including two on the Cornell campus and one involving a graduate student on East Buffalo Street, were arrested by Ithaca Police Oct. 28. Cornell Police aided the investigation.

Arrested were Messiah Reed, 20, of Ithaca, and a 15-year-old Ithaca resident who was turned over to the custody of the New York State Division for Youth pending further action in Tompkins County Family Court. Charged with robbery in the first degree, a Class B felony, Reed was arraigned in Ithaca City Court and remanded to the Tompkins County Jail on $20,000 cash bail or $40,000 bond.

Cornell and Ithaca police are continuing to investigate the robberies. Cornell police are investigating to see whether Reed and the juvenile were involved in two robberies on campus and the armed robbery of a female student Oct. 23 on the Trolley footbridge. The victim in the Oct. 23 incident reported that a small handgun was pointed at her. She was not injured; cash and property were taken.

A series of robberies took place Oct. 28 that led to the capture of the suspects. The first occurred at 7:15 p.m. when an Ithaca resident reported he was robbed at knife point by two males on Willow Avenue. At 7:50 p.m., two visitors to the Cornell campus, a 15-year-old female from Van Etten and a 19-year-old male from Newfield, reported to Cornell police that they were robbed at gunpoint by two males near the bottom of Cascadilla Gorge on the trail north of the Center for Theatre Arts. Their cash was taken. They were not injured.

The third incident was reported to Ithaca police at 8:16 p.m. A Cornell graduate student, a 25-year-old male, said he was approached by two males in the 300 block of East Buffalo Street. He said a gun was placed against the back of his head. The victim was injured during a scuffle with the pair and sustained a possible fractured finger and several lacerations and bruises. He was treated and released at Cayuga Medical Center.

Based on descriptions given by victims, Ithaca police stopped and apprehended the suspects at approximately 8:39 p.m. A gun also was recovered.

Even though suspects have been apprehended in the armed robberies, Cornell police will continue to have extra patrols on campus. They are also investigating two incidents that occurred Oct. 27 and 28.

A male Asian student reported that at 11:09 p.m. Oct. 27, occupants of a white four-door vehicle yelled racial slurs at him at the intersection of East Avenue and Tower Road. The vehicle had a black stripe down the side. Cornell police Capt. Randy Hausner said the perpetrators, when apprehended, may be charged with second degree harassment, a bias crime.

Police are also investigating a report of fraudulent accosting that occurred on North Campus at 3:30 a.m. Oct. 28. A male student reported that one white male and three black males approached him and asked for money. After he gave them approximately $55, the four suspects left the scene in an older American car. The victim was intoxicated and could not give the exact location of the incident. Police believe it occurred on Thurston Avenue.

Other ongoing investigations are the Sept. 16 sexual assault of an Asian female student and two reports of harassment of Asian females.

Hausner asks anyone who may have information on any these incidents to contact Cornell police investigators at 255-1111.

Cornell police urge students to use caution, especially at night, by walking in well-lit areas, avoiding walking alone at night and utilizing the Blue Light buses and escorts. Any suspicious or criminal behavior should be reported immediately to Cornell police by dialing 911 or using a blue light telephone.