From: UW Police Department <uwpolice@u.washington.edu>
Date: Tue, Oct 9, 2007 at 3:46 AM
Subject: [UW Safety] Warning Notification of a Criminal Incident
To:
This message is being sent to all Faculty, Staff, and Students with the
approval of the UW Police Department.
Timely Warning Notification of a Criminal Incident October 8, 2007
Strong-Arm Robbery
This message to members of the University community is being sent in the
interest of public safety and in compliance with federal law requiring
timely warning notification of crimes committed on or near campus.
On October 8, 2007 at approximately 10:14 AM, a UW employee in Guthrie
Hall entered her office and discovered an unauthorized person inside.
She challenged him about his presence, and he attempted to get past her
to reach the door. She noticed that he had her purse with him so she
grabbed his jacket, trying to stop him. There was a short struggle and
he broke free and ran out of the building. Several co-workers saw the
incident, called 911, and tried to follow the suspect. The co-workers
and other witnesses provided information about the suspect's direction
of travel. Officers searched several buildings near the last known
location, which was the NE Pacific Street overpass near the Biological
Sciences building. The suspect was not located.
A strong-arm robbery occurs when a suspect takes property directly from
a person by the use of force or threat of force. There was no weapon
seen by the victim or witnesses.
The suspect was described as a male of African-American descent, with a
medium complexion, early 30s, about 5'-10" to 6'-00" tall, wearing a
white or gray oversized sweat jacket with dark blue patches on the
shoulders and black pants. His hair was worn in corn rows. Some
employees reportedly have seen a very similar appearing person in the
building several times over the last few months.
The stolen property is a small black and white purse - a designer
look-alike with contents. The property has not yet been recovered.
If you have any additional information about this crime, please call the
University of Washington Police at (206) 685-UWPD (8973) reference
incident #07-2075.
Crimes of this type occur very infrequently at the University. There
are some precautions you can take to prevent yourself from becoming a
victim and other actions you can take to reduce your chances of being
injured if you become a victim.
* Lock your office door when you are not inside. It is common for
thieves to walk through UW buildings, looking for property to steal.
* If you confront a person trying to steal something, it is safer
to not obstruct the person's attempt to escape. You cannot be sure what
level of force the person will use to try to get away. Call 911 and
provide an accurate physical description and direction of travel.
Contact the University of Washington Police Crime Prevention Unit at
206-543-9338 for additional crime prevention information.
