Campus police defend decision to not use Alert Carolina for Morrison robbery

More than 48 hours after an armed robbery in Morrison Residence Hall, police have yet to arrest one of the two men involved.

And as the search and investigation continues, University officials said Tuesday that siren and mass-text notification systems were not used because police deemed the incident as isolated to the victims — and found that the 26-year- old suspect, Michael DeAngelo Williamson, had already left the campus area.

Responding to claims that the University’s response was insufficient, Randy Young, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, reiterated Tuesday that police could not confirm that Williamson had a gun as he fled from the scene early Monday morning, nor did they find a weapon on the second man, Luther Oneal Allison, 24, upon his arrest.

Young said police weighed those factors in deciding that Williamson’s flight did not pose an “immediate or imminent threat to campus.”

A warrant for Williamson’s arrest was issued shortly after the incident. Young could not comment on the status of the search.

“That’s part of the investigation,” he said. “The exact location is something the investigation is determining — or may have already determined.”

He declined to speculate on how the University would have responded if police had reason to believe Williamson was still on campus.

Williamson, who has a history of trespassing and drug convictions — along with a 2005 conviction for assault with deadly weapon with intent to kill — was most recently convicted Feb. 15 on drug possession charges.

“Certainly, it would have been at the discretion of officers present,” he said. “To speculate as to what would have transpired would be overstepping.”

The Alert Carolina policy states that the siren and mass-text devices are activated in the event of “an armed and dangerous person on or near campus.” Other than tests, the University has not sounded the siren and public address system since it was introduced in December 2007, Young said.

“Sirens would notify the University to take shelter and go to the Alert Carolina website,” he said. “They would have provided details about one person in custody and one person as a threat.”

Allison, who was most recently convicted Feb. 22 of resisting arrest, was charged Monday with armed robbery, assault by pointed gun and resisting arrest. At 10 a.m., just more than three hours after arriving at the Orange County Jail, he was released in lieu of $16,000 bond, said Sgt. Tommy Crawford of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Allison, of Hillsborough, was not charged with burglary, Young said, because he entered the dormitory at the invitation of a student he knew. Young could not comment on the nature of the acquaintance but said investigators learned of it through a UNC student.

“He was in the company of the people who allowed him to gain entry,” Young said Tuesday. “At least one of the people there allowed him to gain entry.”

But the five student victims whose pockets were emptied at gunpoint said Monday and Tuesday that the men who entered the third floor suite were utter strangers.

Sophomore Justin Baugh said he had never seen either of the men before his friend tapped him on the shoulder Monday morning, lifting his eyes from the PlayStation 3 game he was playing to the gun pointed at his face.

“There was no foreknowledge that it was going to happen,” he said.

Senior Writer Lyle Kendrick contributed reporting.

Contact the University Editor at university@dailytarheel.com.