The first incident happened at approximately 1:40 a.m. at the intersection of Cleveland Avenue and Kershaw Street. Police say the victims, a 21-year-old female from Newark and a 21-year-old male University of Delaware exchange student from Portugal, were walking on the sidewalk along Cleveland Avenue when three black male suspects approached.
Police say one of the suspects, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with red lettering, grabbed the female and then ripped away her small clutch style purse. The female victim attempted to retain her purse and in the scuffle suffered a minor cut to her finger. A second suspect removed the male victim's wallet from his pants. All three suspects then ran to a vehicle parked on Kershaw Street and fled the scene.
The suspects are all described by police as black males 18 to 25 years of age, wearing black clothing with hoods over their heads. The getaway vehicle is described as an older model tan boxy style vehicle, possibly a Cadillac. There was no tag displayed on the vehicle.
The second incident occurred a short time later at approximately 2:00 a.m. along the 700 block of Scholar Drive in the University Courtyard Apartments. Police say the victim, said to be a 21-year-old female University of Delaware student from Dumont, New Jersey, had just entered into the apartment building which is a controlled access building.
Upon entering the building lobby the woman said she heard a knock at the door and observed a black male wearing a black or grey hooded sweatshirt with red lettering standing outside the door. She opened the door for the suspect and then turned her back to walk away, but the man immediately grabbed her from behind, forced her to the ground and grabbed her purse before fleeing out of the apartment building.
The victim was uninjured during the incident.
The suspect in this incident is described as a black male 18 to 25 years of age, wearing a black or grey hooded sweatshirt with red lettering.
Investigators are working to determine if the two incidents were committed by the same individuals.
Anyone with additional information about these incidents should contact Detective Michael Szepp at 302-366-7110 ext. 136 or email him at michael.szepp@cj.state.de.us.
