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November 30, 2007 > News > Police apprehend suspect in strong-arm robbery case

Police apprehend suspect in strong-arm robbery case

By Dale Swartz | Thresher staff

Martel College sophomores David Downing and James Bookhout were victims of a strong-arm robbery on the Inner Loop in front of the Sallyport Thursday, Nov. 15. After knocking Downing unconscious, the thieves fled with several hundred dollars’ worth of personal property. One of the suspects has since been arrested, but three others remain at large.

Around 10:00 p.m. that night, Downing and Bookhout were returning to the North Colleges from Autry Court. As they passed in front of Lovett Hall on the Inner Loop, a truck pulled in front of them. Four Hispanic males jumped out of the vehicle and moved towards them. One approached Downing and muttered something inaudible.

“Before David could even do anything, the guy punched him in the face and knocked him out,” Bookhout said.

With Downing lying unconscious on the ground, Bookhout said the thieves, looking panicked, approached him to demand he hand over his belongings. He complied, turning over his backpack, sweatshirt, wallet, and racquetball racquet. Luckily, Bookhout said, he managed to convince them that he did not have a cell phone.

“One of the guys padded me down, but he missed my phone,” Bookhout said. “Once they’d left, I knew I would need it to call the police. I was pretty freaked out at that point, but all I could think about was David. He was lying there passed out … I just hoped he was OK.”

After taking Bookhout’s belongings, the suspects fled in the truck. Immediately, Bookhout called the Rice University Police Department and flagged down a passing runner for help. He said RUPD arrived promptly, followed by Rice EMS. They attended to Downing, who had regained consciousness by that point, and took him to Memorial Hermann-TMC for observation, where he was released without significant injury.

“The first thing I remember after being punched is waking up in the grass, with James repeating some strange number over and over,” Downing said.

That number turned out to be the license plate number for the truck the suspects were driving. This information led RUPD to the registered owner of the vehicle at a house 12 miles away. By 1:00 a.m., three hours after the attack, RUPD had one of the suspects in custody. They also impounded the truck used in commission of the robbery, a blue Ford F-250 pickup truck.

Police Chief Bill Taylor said a sweatshirt belonging to Bookhout was recovered in the truck in addition to other items that could have been stolen in other incidents.

The suspects charged about $300 to Bookhout’s credit cards at several service stations and fast-food restaurants before they were canceled. Bookhout estimates several hundred dollars worth of losses, including books and other belongings.

Manolo Gonzalez, one of the suspects, was arrested and booked at the RUPD station. Later that night, Downing and Bookhout positively identified him as one of the four who robbed them. After being processed at the Harris County Jail, Gonzalez posted $10,000 in bail Nov. 17 and is currently free, awaiting a pre-trial hearing Dec. 14.

The Harris County District Attorney’s office is charging Gonzalez on one count of robbery with bodily injury, which carries a sentence of five years to life in prison.

The other three suspects remain at large.

“[Gonzalez] didn’t really cooperate with us,” Taylor said. “He gave us names, but they were either first names or nicknames, basically John Does. He clearly knows who they are but won’t give them up.”

The other suspects are described as being 20 to 25 years of age with military-style haircuts, wearing dark hoodies. Two are believed to be 5’6” to 5’8” and one 6’3”.

At least one other strong-arm robbery has been reported in the area around Rice recently. A man jogging on Rice Blvd. by the outer loop Nov. 8 was severely beaten and kicked by several suspects. Before another runner chased them off, the suspects took the man’s iPod and wallet. RUPD is investigating possible connections between the two incidents.

Strong-arm robberies refer to offenses like muggings where no weapon is used, but strong-arm tactics — the use of personal weapons such as hands, arms, feet, fists, teeth, etc. — are employed or their use is threatened to deprive the victim of possessions.

“Right now there’s some speculation that this is gang-related, but we can’t say that at this point,” Taylor said. “[Gonzalez] doesn’t appear to be in a gang, but of course we don’t know about the others.”

The last on-campus armed robbery occurred about four years ago. There were several incidents on the perimeter of campus — at Entrance 4 and Brown College lot — in which people were robbed under the threat of violence, though no one was attacked in those cases.

Jones College junior Mike Mehlman said he finds the incidents disconcerting.

“I live off-campus nearby and bike to and from school, so safety around here at night is important to me,” Mehlman said. “Ultimately, though, this was an isolated incident, so I’m not planning on changing my habits.”

Downing said the incident has changed his perspective of campus safety.

“I get kind of scared whenever I go out at night, still shaken up from it,” Downing said. “We’re not as safe on campus as we thought we were.”

Bookhout said the incident has led him to be more cautious when walking on campus at night, though he acknowledged the event as a freak occurrence.

End of article

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