UC Davis police are investigating three crimes that occured on campus in early March
By SYDNEY AMESTOY — campus@theaggie.org
UC Davis Police are investigating three crimes involving a gun that occured on campus over the past few weeks.
On March 8, at 8:20 p.m. on Hutchinson Drive near the traffic circle at Hutchison Place, there was an incident involving a handgun. According to the report published by Andy Fell, a UC Davis’ news and media relations specialist, the victims came across a silver Nissan Sentra parked in the road and proceeded to honk at the suspect. The suspect, believed to be a white man in his 40s, then got out of the car and pointed a handgun at the victims before leaving the scene. The suspect was wearing an unbuttoned baseball jersey and drove off toward Highway 113.
The suspect in this case was known by UC Davis Police on March 11, but could not be found until March 29, when they were taken into custody.
“The suspect then [threatened another driver] again on the 29th, this time with a baseball bat […] which then led to him being taken into custody,” said Chief Joseph Farrow of the UC Davis Police Department of the brandishing suspect.
The second incident, also on March 8, involved a BB gun, a type of air gun, on Hutchinson Drive. Thirty minutes after the first incident, a silver SUV of unspecified make or model drove by a bicyclist riding on Hutchinson near Extension Center Road. The passenger of the SUV then pointed the BB gun at the bicyclist and fired, hitting the victim in the leg. The victim of this incident did not require medical attention, but no description of the two suspects were given on the official statement.
There have been no arrests in the BB gun case, and the investigation is ongoing.
“We are going to find them, it’s a matter of time,” Farrow said. “We take these things very seriously, especially when a student is harmed. We have two detectives on the case.”
The third incident involved a carjacking with a handgun in the campus parking lot off of Extension Center Road on March 13. The victim, a student, had just gotten into their car at around 7 p.m., when a suspect approached the window with a handgun and demanded the victim get out of the car. The suspect got into the victim’s car and drove off westbound Hutchinson Drive towards Highway 113, followed by a white sedan believed to be a second suspect.
The suspect who pointed the handgun at the victim was described as a white man in his 20s, and was wearing a dark colored hoodie and a surgical mask. The second suspect, who drove the white sedan had no description provided, and the white sedan was of an unspecified make and model.
The victim’s car, a 2018 gray Dodge Challenger R/T, was recovered by Woodland Police on March 15. The first suspect was caught in a collaborative effort by UC Davis, City of Davis and Woodland Police on March 29. The second suspect was taken into custody the following day on March 30.
“A suspect has been identified in the brandishing case, and the case is being reviewed by the District Attorney,” Fell said of the carjacking incident.
The three incidents occurred in relatively the same area, in such a small time frame, and involving some type of gun; however, according to Fell, these cases are not thought to be related.
According to Farrow, this series of incidents in such a short period of time is not typical of Davis.
“I think it is [unusual], but it’s a good reminder that these things do happen even here in Davis,” Farrow said.
UC Davis Police are still working on investigating the incident involving the BB gun and advise anyone with any kind of information to contact their non-emergency line at (530)-752-1727.
“Always be alert and aware of your surroundings,” Farrow said. “I hate saying it but it is true: if you see something, say something. We are your partners for the safety of the community, and the more communication we have, the better we can serve.”
Written by: Sydney Amestoy — campus@theaggie.org
