Avery Robbery Investigation Stalls

An 18-year-old UNC student was robbed at gunpoint the evening of Sept. 19. The robber took a laptop, cellular phone, gold chain and $4.

University police Maj. Jeff McCracken said the police "don't have anything that we can report at this time."

McCracken said that police can't report on an ongoing investigation and that there is no estimate for when the investigation will be finished.

While McCracken says he hopes students are remaining vigilant, he says there is no need for them to be afraid.

"This is the only time that a crime like this has occurred at this University," McCracken said. The Avery robbery is the first robbery at gunpoint in University history, and it seems like an isolated incident, he said.

Freshman Anna Carson-DeWitt said that although she's always mindful of safety, the incident didn't make her more nervous.

"It reminded me of what I already knew," Carson-DeWitt said. "In the world, you have to be careful."

The robbery is believed to be linked to a theft that occurred earlier on the same night at Granville Towers, though McCracken would not comment on why the connection has been made.

University police Capt. Mark McIntyre said that investigators have followed up on all of the original leads but that none of them have led to an arrest. The most useful clues so far have been surveillance photos from Granville, which have led to the questioning of possible suspects.

"We've received information about who people think the people in the photographs are," said McIntyre. "We've been able to eliminate those people."

The most helpful thing at this point would be some idea of the identity of the people in the photographs, McIntyre said.

At this point there are no suspects, and there have been no major developments in the past two weeks, McIntyre said. He said investigators are "going to continue following up the leads that we have."

Investigators have flagged the laptop so that if the suspects log onto the UNC network the link can be traced, McIntyre said. The computer has not been connected to the Internet yet.

McIntyre said there are two officers working on the case.

Some UNC students seem to think the police are doing an adequate job.

"I can understand why they haven't caught anyone yet," said junior Ashesh Parikh. "It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack."

Police officers are also "pleased with the way we've handled it because we've done all we can," McIntyre said.

In the meantime, officials are urging students to lock their doors whenever possible, not to let strangers into halls and not to walk alone at night.

Residence Hall Association President Joanna Jordan said there have been discussions about increasing safety, including measures such as placing cameras in the residence halls or making one main key that would provide access to any hall.

"The Department of Public Safety has been very open to student input and student discussion," Jordan said. Although no new measures are scheduled to be implemented at this time, RHA officials are listening to suggestions.

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.