Recent robberies concern students

Four YSU students have been robbery victims on campus over the past week.
By ANGIE SCHMITT
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The short walk from a Youngstown State University residence hall to the parking lot is taken with more caution after the weekend robbery of two students.
"It's kind of scary," said Kathleen Kennedy, a business economics major and resident of the Cafaro House residence hall. "I'm just going to try to be a lot more careful, just try not to walk to my car alone."
Kennedy and a few of her neighbors have agreed to use the buddy system when retrieving their cars from the parking lot, she said.
Their lot, at Elm Street and Madison Avenue, was the scene of Sunday's first robbery -- in which a female student was forced to turn over her purse at gunpoint.
Less than 90 minutes later, a second female student's car was stolen near Courtyard Apartments; a female passenger also was in the victim's car. Police arrested 28-year-old Willie Lee Davis of Youngstown shortly afterward. Among the charges he faces are two counts of aggravated robbery, and fleeing and eluding.
YSU police have determined the gun used in the back-to-back robberies was a sham. A crime alert e-mailed to all YSU students, faculty and staff Monday said the implied weapon was actually a plastic toy gun.
Senior Jessica Neal of East Palestine was first alerted to the robbery through the university's e-mail. Neal has parked her car in the Cafaro lot for three years without incident, she said.
"I've never really felt unsafe here," she said. "Maybe we should."
Low crime rate
Violent crime on YSU's campus is rare, said YSU Crime Prevention Officer Sgt. Bryan Remias. The university reported only one robbery last year, he said.
According to FBI statistics, the university reported no murders, rapes, aggravated assaults and robberies during 2005. YSU's zero violent crimes ranked below University of Toledo's seven and Wright State University's five, though the schools have comparable enrollments.
"Most of the things we have here are opportunity thefts -- someone leaves something and someone picks it up," said Remias. "It just so happens that some idiot came up here and had the opportunity to do this."
University police stress safety of the campus during orientation presentations to incoming freshmen. They also note that call boxes are always nearby for notifying campus police, and explain that the officers on patrols are nearby.
In addition to Sunday's three victims, a fourth female student was robbed four days earlier at YSU. Police reported the woman was approached by a man who implied he had a weapon in a parking lot off Wick Avenue near Meshel Hall. The man escaped with the woman's ring, after she said she didn't have any cash, according to YSU police. That man remains at large, said Remias.
Students have been informed of the crimes through the police department's Web site and "incident boards" placed in every academic building. YSU officers use the boards to inform the campus community of crime and to solicit tips, said Remias.
"We're letting them know that an incident has happened on campus just so they can be alert and more aware of their surroundings," he said. "We need people to just keep their eyes and ears open."