 "Photo: File photo")
Some University Courtyard students are fearful after six students were bound and gagged on Nov. 30 by four armed robbers who police say broke into their University Courtyard apartment looking for drug money.
The incident occurred at 1:20 a.m. in the 500 building of the apartment complex on Scholar Drive, said Lt. Brian Henry of the Newark Police Department.
The suspects made noise in the hallway, prompting a resident of the apartment to open the door slightly. The suspects then pushed the door open and entered the apartment.
Inside, they allegedly bound the students’ hands and covered their mouths with duct tape. The victims, all between 18 and 20 years old, include four male residents of the apartments and two female guests. One of the women suffered a bruised eye after being struck by the door when it was pushed open, but no other injuries were reported.
The suspects, armed with two black pistols and a knife, demanded drugs and cash and eventually fled with a safe and several personal items, Henry said.
Henry said residents of the apartment told police marijuana is openly used there, but police have no indication drugs were being sold in the apartment. Based on the suspects’ demand for drug money, police are investigating whether the suspects were aware of drug use in the apartment and assumed drug sales were occurring.
Another possibility, he said, is that the suspects intended to rob another apartment, but got the wrong location. Either way, Henry emphasized the crime was not a random act.
“We can say with almost certainty they were targeting this apartment for the purpose of stealing drugs or drug money,” Henry said.
The same apartment was burglarized sometime between Nov. 25 and Nov. 28 when none of the residents were present. Henry said it appeared that the burglars were searching for something in particular, but nothing of value was taken. Police are investigating whether the two incidents are connected.
The suspects fled carrying two dark-colored backpacks, one camouflage backpack and a pillowcase. Police believe they left in a silver, four-door, newer model car with dark windows.
There are no suspects in last week’s burglary at the same residence.
Juniors Allison Zaloba and Jenna Kolker have lived on the first floor of the University Courtyard’s 500 building for the past two years. They said this incident has caused them some alarm.
“We were really scared when we heard about it,” Zaloba said. “Something huge like this happened and everyone’s freaking out.”
Kolker agreed.
“Break-ins are happening all around, and we all just thought nothing of it until they come three floors above us,” Kolker said. “We’re four girls, what are we going to do?”
The roommates said they feel vulnerable in an all-female apartment and building security could be much better. Zaloba explained the 500 building’s lack of a “double entry” system, which includes a keycard-accessible door separating individually locked apartment doors from the outside. The system is present in most of the other Courtyard apartment buildings.
“It sucks because we are paying the most out of anyone in the Courtyard really, unless you live in a single, and we have probably the least protection,” she said.
Kolker explained the 200, 300 and 500 buildings are the only that include apartments with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. She said none of the buildings have indoor security cameras.
“The security cameras are actually surrounding the parking lot to check out the cars, so all the cameras are facing toward there, as opposed to being in the actual halls of where we live,” Kolker said. “For the amount of money that we pay per month, you would think that we would get some kind of security guarantee that this wouldn’t happen.”
She said in addition to parking lot security cameras there is an undercover officer patrolling the area each night, as well as panic buttons located in each room of the apartments.
“There is a lot of security here in regards to alarm systems,” Kolker said. “In terms of what they can do, they’re obviously not doing enough because it’s still happening.”
Courtyard mangers could not be reached for comment.
Zaloba said the robbery was unexpected despite break-ins to the same apartment in the days prior.
“Supposedly, they broke in the day before they actually did it to kind of scout it out,” she said. “There was damage done to the door and maintenance fixed it; they just thought it was vandalism.”
Kolker said it is obvious the criminals were looking for something and said she is shocked by the armed home invasion.
“It’s just a shame to see the extent that they’re going to go to for drugs,” she said.
The suspects in the robbery are described as three white males and one black male, all 20 to 25 years of age, 5 feet, 10 inches to 6 feet tall, average build, and wearing baggy blue jeans. One was wearing a Philadelphia Phillies hat, and another had a bandana covering the lower portion of his face.
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