Left with the option of walking down Mission Bell Drive from school, Jessica Collignon has taught herself never to walk alone in fear of ending up like the rest, robbed of their safety and the possessions that once belonged to them.
“It is upsetting that (the area) is scarier than it should be,” Collignon said.
The Middle College High School junior is only one out of many students on campus who rely on taking safety precautions, such as traveling in groups and concealing expensive valuables, when dealing with crime on and close to the college.
Though police officials are scheduled to patrol the area throughout the week, students traveling near the Bus Transfer Center, the site of a majority of the robberies close to the campus, are urged be cautious of their surroundings.
“That area does have some troubles and issues,” Police Services Sgt. Jose Oliveira said. “With the rest of the campus, (there is) not a single problem in the other buildings.”
Two robberies and a grand theft were reported on and near the campus at the end of October, all resulting with no definite leads on the identities of the suspects, he said.
A robbery and grand theft occurred on Oct. 21, though both crimes are reported as unrelated.
The robbery occurred just off campus at a bus stop down Mission Bell Drive at 3 a.m.
As the victim was waiting for a ride to work, three suspects assaulted him and robbed him of his wallet, bus pass and a small amount of money.
The victim, though not a student at the college, reported the crime to the San Pablo Police Department (SPPD), but campus Police Services responded on behalf of the SPPD, Oliveira said.
According to police reports, all three suspects matched the description of previous robberies performed in the area earlier this semester, which may pose a connection in the series of crimes, he said.
The victim reported the suspects as African-American males in their late teens and early 20s, standing between 6 feet and 5 feet 7 inches tall while wearing dark clothing.
One of the suspects, the victim believed, carried a firearm in his possession.
On the same day, an 18-year-old female student reported a grand theft that occurred in the Liberal Arts Building between 9:15-9:25 a.m. when she left her $430 cell phone in the restroom and found it missing when she returned to retrieve it.
The grand theft, which is determined by stolen possessions valued at more than $400, has yet to experience any progress for it to be reclaimed.
The following week, on Oct. 26, another robbery was reported near the tennis courts on Mission Bell Drive, where a 28-year-old female student was robbed of her purse containing her wallet, money, bankcards and identification cards.
Police reports indicate that, after feeling a tug on her purse, the victim showed resistance and was consequently punched three times before the suspect retreated into the Del Camino-Valencia housing complexes on Valencia Way.
The suspect, described as 16-18 years old, about 150-160 pounds and wearing all black clothing, has yet to be identified.
“All these crimes are crimes of opportunity,” Oliveira said.
Students walking alone with expensive electronic devices visible are most often the ones targeted during a robbery, he said.
Campus police aide Edgard Sibrian said the campus has seen a higher level of robberies on campus in the last two years.
As most robberies resulted in the suspects fleeing to the Del Camino-Valencia housing complexes across the Bus Transit Center, an iron rod fence has been built to separate it from the college.
Contact Asia Camagong at acamagong.advocate@gmail.com
Crime persists
Robberies, thefts trigger safety worries
Published: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Updated: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
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