Arrest Made in Armed Robberies

Suspect turns himself in; search continues for accomplices

October 11, 2012
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Brookline Police have arrested a suspect in a string of armed robberies that have set the BU community on edge and alarmed neighborhoods of Brookline for more than two weeks. Brookline Police Chief Daniel O’Leary says a juvenile suspect accompanied by family members turned himself in to Brookline Police at about 5 p.m. on Thursday. O’Leary says a video of three suspects that was posted on BU Today and other news outlets played a major role in the arrest.

“Right now,” he says, “we are trying to grab the other two suspects.”

O’Leary says the suspect, who could not be named because he is a juvenile, was charged with two counts of armed robbery, for crimes committed on September 25 and October 5. He said Brookline Police have been working closely and aggressively with the Boston and the BU Police Departments to arrest all of those involved in the crimes.

WCVB.com reports that the suspect who turned himself in is 15 years old, and is believed to be the person in the surveillance video wearing a red sweater and Air Jordans sneakers.

While the arrest was made just 24 hours after Boston University offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of one or more of the perpetrators involved in four armed robberies of BU students and an alum, O’Leary says the role the reward played in the arrest has yet to be determined.

BU Police Chief Thomas Robbins says the suspect pleaded not guilty in Brookline District Court to both counts of armed robbery. He is being held without bail until October 18, when he will face a “dangerousness hearing,” to determine his eligibility to be released on bail. Robbins says the suspect is believed to be involved in the second and third of the four armed robberies of BU students and an alum on or near the campus. That third robbery, of a recent BU graduate, took place at 5:15 p.m. on Friday, October 5, at the corner of St. Paul and Thatcher Street, one block from the robbery of three BU students that occurred at about 5 p.m. on September 25. Two days earlier, at approximately 3 a.m. on September 23, two BU students were robbed of an iPhone, an Android cell phone, a wallet, and $50 at the corner of Thorndike Street and Hamilton Road. A subsequent armed attempt to rob a female student occurred in the driveway of 808 Commonwealth Ave. on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. The woman told police that two assailants, who brandished a handgun, fled when they learned that she had nothing of value in her bag. There were no injuries in any of the assaults.

Anyone with information about the robberies is asked to contact CrimeStoppers at 800-494-TIPS (8477), or text to CRIME (27463).

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Arrest Made in Armed Robberies

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  • Art Jahnke

    Senior Contributing Editor

    Art Janke

    Art Jahnke began his career at the Real Paper, a Boston area alternative weekly. He has worked as a writer and editor at Boston Magazine, web editorial director at CXO Media, and executive editor in Marketing & Communications at Boston University, where his work was honored with many awards. Profile

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There are 130 comments on Arrest Made in Armed Robberies

      1. Clearly stupid. The reward was for the apprehension of the kid. The most he gets is a lesser sentence or, if he assists the police with the names and addresses of the other suspects, he could get an emotional/mental instability claim that removes this from his record, but places him in 6 month mental rehab/institute.

        Regardless, the school will not pay a criminal.

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    2. No they are not. The suspect is not eligible for the money and its hard to say if his family could claim it when they came with the subject to turn him in. Also they did say it was a reward for “information.” Bringing the subject in is not information but a surrender. They didn’t offer a bounty. I really hope they didn’t as it would set a bad precedent that all you need to do is rob a few university students and wait for the reward money before having a family member turn them in. People have done far stupider things for way less money. Also first time offenders who are underage usually get a reduced sentence or just a slap on the wrist.

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    5. It’s unlikely that BU will give the suspect the reward money. However, it’s likely the suspect and/or his family thought they would get the reward money. 15 year old muggers aren’t the brightest.

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    2. “Criminal scum”? The guy in custody is a kid, did not physically harm anyone, and TURNED HIMSELF IN, which indicates that he either has a conscience or realizes that a life of crime isn’t the way to go. The kind of attitude and thinking like that exhibited by “Anon” only adds to the problem. When a community or society comes to view people who commit a crime as innately “criminal scum,” then what incentive do people have to try to change themselves for the better?

      Who or what is really to blame when teens come to think that iPhones etc are so important that they are willing to rob a stranger to get one? Perhaps if so many students at BU weren’t fortunate enough to carry around $600 electronics in their pocket, they wouldn’t feel so hostile toward kids who have learned to want those things but who at this point in their lives have not been able to obtain them through honest channels…like Mommy and Daddy.

      Nothing good will come from giving up on this guy.

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      4. Sure, I’m all for people wanting to turn their lives around, but not having physically harmed anyone is hardly a valid issue if the kid was brandishing a loaded gun. The victims did not resist the kid. If they had, who knows what may have happened. You can’t just assume the kid would have been too timid to use a gun. If the victims really believed that they wouldn’t have forfeited their belongings.

        Maybe giving up on a teenage armed robber isn’t the right move, but turning oneself in when there is great pressure on one (and we don’t actually know whether it was the parents in this case who got wind of this) is not a ticket to forgiveness. These teenage armed robbers ought to go through a lot of social and psychological torment before they are forgiven. To call them ‘scum’ at this point shows they have hit a low (and I hope this is a low for them!). It doesn’t mean they can’t work their way out of being scum, but they’ve been behaving like scum, so that’s an accurate description.

        Finally, to think that the possibility that the perpetrators were on the less fortunate side of social inequality somehow excuses armed robbery is ridiculous. Of course it would be nice if everyone could afford an iPhone. But to think that social injustice justifies theft! No matter how unfair it is that some are lucky enough to have far more wealth than others, it’s never okay forcefully to steal the fruits of someone else’s wealth, regardless of whether that person did anything to deserve that wealth. To think the less fortunate should be excused when they take their misfortune into their own hands at the expense of others, no matter how fortunate, is insane.

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        1. I don’t think anyone is advocating that the robbers be “excused” or let off scott-free. And I don’t think it’s really on members of the BU community to “forgive” these guys, except for those who were personally assaulted. This is not a personal issue, this is a systemic issue, and there are certainly instances where social injustice justifies theft. Think of all those painted as “thugs” and “hoodlums” for “looting” stores like Walmart after Hurricane Katrina and other natural or manmade disasters. The circumstances are different in these cases, but the underlying issues are pretty similar–in that case, the “criminals” were often seen as lowlives just the same.

          I have an iPhone and while I certainly would be upset if I were robbed at gunpoint, my right to own this item of luxury and convenience does not override the rights of the suspects to a fair trial and a just punishment. “A lot of social and psychological torment”? Ask the U.S. government how that strategy paid off in Abu Ghraib.

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        2. Read other news. The gun was definitely fake. Even if it was ‘real’ that gun would not shoot. The scum clearly did not wish to use the weaponry, otherwise they could aim for higher game – convenience stores, for example. My knowledge of human psychology says that should you show a little force against them; mentally agitate them, or threaten them – they would have chosen to flee, in which case you could easily strike from behind, disarm and disable your opponent… Sadly, I never met any of them… then the reward would have been mine…

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        3. Are you like physically incapable of empathy? Have you never been a teenager before?

          This is a troubled young man who will be punished regardless of what you do or don’t believe. Forgiveness is best reserved to the actual people who have been put through emotional trauma from these attacks.

          I’m not saying that his behavior was excusable, but the fact that you wish psychological and social torment on a juvenile is revealing. I hope for the kids sake that he gets his shit together.

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      5. If you think they robbed someone of their iPhone because they wanted a phone and couldn’t afford it, then you clearly aren’t seeing the full picture. If all they wanted was an iPhone, wouldn’t they have stopped after they got the phone? That was the first of the four robberies. They robbed people of anything that had any substantial value that they could turn around and sell. This was not a case of “I want an iPhone”, this was a case of “is that valuable enough to sell? Yes? Take it.”

        Maybe they are less fortunate, but that doesn’t mean it is okay to commit armed robbery. I’m not saying give up on him, and there is something to be said for having turned himself in, which I’m sure will be taken into consideration when it comes to sentencing and whatnot, but it still doesn’t make it okay.

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      7. “accompanied by family members ” — his mom turned him in! She must have explained to him that he was bagged, it was just a matter of time, turn yourself in and cop a plea to rat out the other two. Criminal scum is right — he’s getting off scott free, there is no honor amongst thieves.

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        1. Oh really? THAT’S why mom turned him in? Not because she is a person with morals and values and loves her son so is teaching him accountability. Maybe your mom is that shallow but you shouldn’t just project it onto others.

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      8. Are you kidding? It is not ok to rob someone at gunpoint even if they didn’t hurt anyone. If he is doing this at this age where do you think he will end up. By the way the family turned him in thinking they would get the reward money he did not turn himself in.

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      9. Love you! You must be in the school of social work… (that’s where I am… lol!!) Another important point here is that he showed up with his family. They probably found out he was involved (saw the pic or someone saw it and told them), blitzed on him and made him turn himself in. My mother would have done exactly that. She always told us if we got in trouble like that, she would turn us in (love us, help us get back on track, but absolutely not hide us or protect us from the consequences because she “didn’t raise us that way”). That was huge in terms of imparting her values and also in making us think twice before doing anything too stupid. We now live in a time in which parents are more likely to lash out at teachers, neighbors, etc. in blind defense of their children. If only more parents would take stance similar to mine, we might have better outcomes. In any event, kudos to the family for accompanying the youth to the station, whether they forced it, encouraged it, or supported his own personal decision to turn himself in. It will go a looooong way in his ability to turn things around.

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      10. You’re sadly misinformed about the cause of iPhone theft. Apple products (iPhone, iPad) are the most highly stolen products, disproportionate to their market share. There’s a huge black market for Apple products, and a huge amount of this is due to the fact that Apple itself doesn’t have appropriate safeguards in place to identify stolen goods in store. If a thief comes in with a defective iPhone, for example, Apple will issue them a warranty replacement, no questions asked- even though the initial owner has contacted Apple and reported the original device stolen.

        Do some research on the issue- it’s a very significant problem for Apple. Most of the other device makers have this under control.

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      11. I find your comment about BU students having a lot of expendable money in the form of electronics to be very ignorant. I know many BU students who are on financial aid, scholarship, etc. who cannot afford iPhones and they do not resort to stealing them. I saved up for months to afford an iPhone and was infuriated when it was stolen by some criminal who could not care less that I do not have the means to replace what he stole. These muggings are not only emotionally distressing but they are also financially devastating to many of us students who are just trying to get by without any help from “mommy and daddy”.

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    1. Maybe family members just simply recognized the young man and wanted him to do the right thing. I believe the video and cash reward came out at the same time. I could be wrong though.

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  4. It’s about time! I don’t walk too often because I have a car on campus but I’m glad to know we can all start to feel safe again. As students we take our safety on campus for granted. BU does an impressive job making their campus safe, but we need to remember we’re still in the middle of Boston..

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    1. mm .. I am not really starting to feel safe again … and BU has certainly done a decent job to prevent other similar crimes.. I wouldn’t call it impressive though.. BU should do much much more to keep its students safe starting with:

      – installing blue emergency boxes in “sensitive” off campus locations where a lot of BU students live (Ex. Dexter Park). We didn’t need to have multiple robberies to realize that streets like St Paul are dangerous and many more police officers should patrol this kind of areas at all times during the day (especially in the evening). Notice that when I say OFF CAMPUS I refer to areas which are really close to what is considered ON CAMPUS.

      – installing cameras in sensitive areas as a deterrent. This would also help against the thefts of bikes ect. It is ridiculous that bikes get stolen at a very alarming rate ON CAMPUS and BU is doing absolutely nothing to prevent this (except a few bike rooms).

      I could go on and on but I have to go!

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      2. Dexter,

        BU guarantees its students 4 years of on campus housing. If you however choose to live off campus, you are choosing to live outside of the “BU System”. You are accepting the many benefits and possible drawbacks that come with this. One of the drawbacks is that you are outside of the safety measures that come with being on campus. This includes emergency boxes, residential security guards, and close proximity to the BUPD.

        Your argument that BU should be protecting you while you are off-campus if ridiculous. A lot of students live in Dexter, off-campus South, Packard’s Corner area, Harvard Ave Area, etc. Should BU install emergency boxes and cameras in all of these places? Should they install emergency boxes on Newbury Street because student shop there on the weekends? How about Faneuil Hall? Its just not plausible.

        When you choose to live off campus, you have to take all factors in to consideration including the quality of the neighborhood. The off-campus neighborhoods fall under the jurisdiction of the local area’s police department. Off-campus safety concerns should really be directed towards your local town officials. Any patrols by BUPD or safety measures put into place by BU should be considered bonus.

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        2. That is not true. BU does NOT guarantee on campus housing for all 4 years. When I was accepted into BU as a transfer student, I was told on-campus housing was not guaranteed. And indeed, BU housing stated that there was no room on-campus for me. I did not CHOOSE to live off-campus, and i’m sure there are others like me as well

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          1. Students are guaranteed housing for their entire undergraduate experience as long as their stays in on-campus housing are continuous. If students elect to move off campus and later decide they would like to live on campus, they must apply for on-campus housing. Once students leave on-campus housing, there is no guarantee that they will be provided on-campus housing in the future.

            Transfer students receive information about their resident status in their letter of acceptance. This means that you knew ahead of time that on campus housing was unavailable when you chose to transfer to BU.

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          2. I see what all you guys are saying… the problem is that places like Dexter Park in west campus are really close to the BU police station.. they are much closer than other ON-campus locations.. On top of that, if you take the specific case of Dexter Park, it is known that the biggest percentage of off-campus students live there. So, it wouldn’t take a crazy amount of resources to patrol better a very small stretch of St Paul St. and other very sensitive areas where a lot of BU students walk every day.

            THIS MIGHT NOT BE CURRENT BU POLICY as you pointed out but IT IS COMMON SENSE! .. and given that we all pay a lot of money to BU and we are all BU students, it should be BU police job to protect all BU students as best as they can.. not just the ON-campus people.. and I am not saying they should protect people in Cambridge or Somerville.. all I am saying is that they should protect well all sensitive “BU students areas” within reach of the BU police station.. IT IS COMMON SENSE GUYS, JUST COMMON SENSE.. I, like other people, made my choice to live off campus and I understand I cannot have all the BU “comforts” other people living in dorms have..but here we are talking about students’ safety.. that goes above everything!

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      4. ok.. dude, sounds hard, but whether you live on or off campus, the BUPD or Brookline PD has no obligation to protect you as an individual. You need to count on yourself.

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    3. The mugger and his family turned himself in. Gave himself to the police. In what way did the BUPD/Brookline Police “track down and apprehended the suspect”? Yes, they put pressure on the muggers by releasing videos and increasing patrols, and yes, they may or may not have had suspcious leads but they.did.not.catch.the.mugger.

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  7. what do you mean nothing valuable in victim’s handbag? we were told that she did have a phone but refused to give it that’s when muggers ran away. so what’s the truth?
    meanwhile I hope that this person will “sell” his friends and help with investigation. finally some results. now I can again have my evening dinners at st.paul street

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    1. Friend of a friend answer here.

      She showed them her bag and said there is nothing valuable in here. She had her cell phone in her pocket not her bag. They looked in the bag and left without asking for her cell phone.

      She is traumatized but feeling lucky. She did not refuse the muggers anything.

      The two who accosted her may not be connected with the 15 year old in custondy.

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    1. Maybe that’s why they turned him in, to get 10k lol not bad :D The kid won’t be jailed anyway I think , but 10k is in the pocket of his mom. Nice family business :D :D :D

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    2. the child is underage. the parents are held responsible for said underage child. using that logic, the parents are partially responsible for thhe muggings and would therefore, clearly, obviously, not receive a reward for illegal behavior.

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  11. I hope that they are ALL punished to the fullest extent of the law. The fact that that criminal bastard turned himself in means NOTHING compared to the fear, anger, and frustration they imposed upon a peaceful community of students, faculty, researchers, and businesses.

    Make examples of those kids and lock them away for a long, long time. Society has no use for people like them.

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    2. From the comments posted here, it seems clear that the BU community takes some comfort from the fact that one of the suspects has been arrested…which means it does mean something.

      If society and the justice system could find a use for “people like them” (like what?!) then maybe “they” wouldn’t feel detached from their community to the extent that they’re willing to hold a gun to someone to take what they want but for whatever do not have.

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        1. Or maybe just maybe they could try to lead productive lives like the rest of us…. instead of holding people and gun point and robbing them… Ever think of that?

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  15. I agree because I don’t think they would offer money to the actual robber. I know I saw the video in the same article that mentioned the reward. So I do think that a parent probably saw the video and made the child turn himself in. I don’t know if necessarily to do the right thing, but maybe this is a frustrated mother/father with a child who constantly misbehaves and this was the last straw of teaching the child the consequences for his actions.

    I doubt the child will turn in his friends but i’m sure the parents told the friends’ parents and hopefully they provide enough punishment to stop the robberies. But I’m sure other people who try after this thinking that the police will just think it’s the other two they haven’t found yet.

    So I still don’t feel safe enough to go to that area.

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  16. Why is his name withheld, he acted as a thug and had no concerns for his victims. His name should be released so neighbors can see who they live among and to keep their eyes open!

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    1. “A thug” with no “concerns for his victims”? This is not a cold hard killer. No one was hurt in these robberies. He was involved in ONE of the four and turned himself in.

      And it’s a fairly safe bet that, as a young black male in a city as historically racist and segregated as Boston, the suspect knows that his “neighbors” have had their eyes on him for a long time.

      Sucks to pay $50,000 a year in tuition only to realize that–gasp!–Boston is still a city with all the challenges that entails.

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      1. Wow MB your so smart… His parents turned him in… He DIDN’T turn himself in. And yes he had no regard for his victims. What happens if the gun accidentally discharged when it was held to someone’s head? So maybe by the grace of luck we’ll not say that he had “no concerns” just based off of luck that the gun didn’t go off? Grow up and start realizing how this could have been an even worse tragedy….

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        1. Little tip- you should spell correctly when sarcastically calling someone “smart”. It might make people pay a little more attention to whatever point you think you’re making.

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      4. People keep forgetting that emotional damage is still damage! you guys say that oohh poor kid bla bla bla nobody was hurt anyway. I think people WERE hurt! If someone comes up to me with a gun, it’s how many sleepless night ahead I will have, how scared I will be to walk on the streets near my school, it’s how emotionally hurt I will be…For some reason people think that HURT means only when blood come out of your body.

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      5. This is not a cold hard killer, he is a thug, plain and simple. But bleeding heart you are can not see that. Using a gun in the course of a robbery, and because no one is hurt, makes you think that it is ok for him to get off without any repercussions. You live in a fantasy world,so go back under your covers and continue to think that all is right with the world because you say it is so!

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  17. People rob because they don’t have enough and because the education system has failed them. I hope we, as educated and fortunate individuals, can see that and push for this kid (and he is a child who clearly does not have good role models and is thus capable of changing if society supports him in doing so) to be supported in changing his behavior rather than simply being thrown in jail where he will get no rehabilitation and will ultimately become more angry and more violent. Yes, it’s appealing to say we should throw this kid in jail and throw away the key, but there has to be a better way moving forward in terms of rehabilitating and not simply punishing young offenders in this country without considering where this pure punishment will lead. We need to think long term, as intellectuals, and not short term, as is our propensity as frightenened children in this day and age.

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    3. Couldn’t agree more. He’s a kid who is on the wrong path, it’s not too late for him just yet. If we throw him in jail with the rest of the criminals, there’s no coming back from there. What I’m saying is, there’s no need to make an example of him. He should be given a just punishment with a focus on rehabilitation.

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    4. Yes let’s go easy on criminals that put guns in our kids faces because they have had hard lives

      The insanity of this point of view undermines all that BU and the parent community have done to protect our kids

      Very sad

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    5. You are making excuses for this behavior and assuming a lot. How do you know they have nothing or that the education system failed them. You know nothing of their background. Even if this were true, and again – I feel like those statements are presumptuous, there are plenty of people who “don’t have enough”as( you put it) that have good moral compasses and don’t resort to violent behavior with a deadly weapon.

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    7. Sure, rehabilitation is an issue. This is a juvenile. However, this is a juvenile who placed a loaded weapon against someone’s stomach for an inconsequential amount of money. That demonstrates a complete indifference for the life of another. If this happened once or the kid was merely aiding and abetting, then I can see a reduced punishment. But there is something horrendously wrong with this kid’s perception of society, such that we should not risk harm to other people until this kid has had a long opportunity to reflect on his actions and is eventually rehabilitated.

      So we’ve covered two of three (or more) justifications for punishment: rehabilitation and retribution. The most important for me is deterrence. By far the most concerning aspect of these crimes is how easily these crimes were committed–in broad daylight and in a generally busy area. What a lax punishment says to the broader community is that individuals can just carry guns around and use the weapon as leverage to steal other people’s possessions. That is all this was: a few kids on a power trip because they had a gun and knew that a bunch of college kids would not have the means to protect themselves. We cannot convey indifference or apathy towards such crimes or else they will become more ubiquitous when the ease of committing such crimes is elucidated to potential criminals.

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    8. Same. Plus, he must have had to gather an immense amount of courage to turn himself in. Whether he was pressured to do it or not, the fact remains that he did it, and would probably suffer great consequences if his school and friends find out. Associates would be wary of him and his friends/accomplices would probably never talk to him again. (Though it might not be a bad thing; I hope he turns his life around and starts anew.)

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  19. Kudos to the BU parents who came together and delivered a united message to the BU leadership team

    We got BU to put up a reward and its no irony that there was an arrest in less than 24 hours

    Please continue to email me with ideas and suggestions as this is not over and we need to keep up the pressure

    Bucrimewave@gmail.com

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  20. It saddens me to see people saying that we should throw away the key on this kid. In the original article, it said that the fourth victim refused to give them anything and they ran away. This makes me wonder, were these just stupid pissed off kids, egging each other on? Maybe the kid’s mom saw the video on TV, recognized him, and made him turn himself in. We’ve all known kids who did some pretty stupid things in their teenage years, and while they probably weren’t nearly this stupid, it’s not wise to judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes. I’ve never been an Everlast fan, but the song, “What It’s Like” isn’t without some wisdom:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCZ1YteCv5M

    I’m not saying he shouldn’t be punished. I think that laws should be enforced. But until we know a bit more, I think that a reaction of relief is a bit more seemly than rage. I’m not a Christian, but the following phrase comes to mind: “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

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  21. Hmmmm. He was wearing new Air Jordan’s, a not inexpensive pair of shoes, so he had enough apparently. And in saying he has no role models, you are condemning his parents, who brought him to the police station. Yes kids do stupid things and are subject to pressure from “friends”, but certainly there should be some punishment for someone who pushes a gun literally into the face of their victims. Rehabilitation should be offered but to offer a blanket condemnation of his family, education and society in general as an excuse for his actions is as bad as suggesting that all black teenagers in hoodies are thugs.

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    1. @ OWEN _ Impoverished??? Did you READ this… WCVB.com reports that the suspect who turned himself in is 15 years old, and is believed to be the person in the surveillance video wearing a red sweater and Air Jordans sneakers.

      I don’t buy my kids Air Jordans…Don’t spew some bull like that and make excuses for criminal behaviour. You are an insult to those respectable Hard-working African-American youth in a big city who deserving of our praise.

      As for this kid. He may have connected with the wrong crowd. That happens. If his parents weren’t aware, they are now and I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt because they turned him in that they are respectable and did not react due to any mention of a reward.

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  25. I don’t understand why some of you can be so single-minded. Yes, before he turned himself in he caused a lot of alarm in the BU community. But to call him criminal scum? You obviously have not seen anything
    in life. Did he kill anyone? Carrying a gun does not necessarily mean he had the intent for fatalities. He’s only 15. That means he’s a middle schooler. The more I read some of the comments here, the more disappointed I am with the people in this community. What if he was Caucasian? Would some of you still say the same things you’ve said here? And “Justice” definitely does not understand the mind-set of what modern-day justice is like. The 15-year-old “imposed fear, anger, and frustration on a peaceful community” of BU students? First of all, i don’t know what peaceful is to you, but we live in the city. I repeat, the city. And as an actual student of this community, yes, we were alarmed and became more cautious, but nothing we felt was close to the “fear/anger/frustation” mentioned. That’s just being melodramatic. Robbing’s not right, but juvi is where they should go, not jail, where criminals with worse crimes than his go. Lock a 15-year-old kid in jail for a “long long time” for robbing a couple hundred dollars worth of electronics? What’s supposed to happen to someone who broke someone else’s arm? Death sentence? I stayed in Boston and chose BU because I believed the people here to be liberal and open-minded. Some of you really disappointed me.

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    2. No problem, ask your parents who are footing your bill if they feel the same way about the months events, more than likely you will get feedback you won’t like. Carrying a gun does not necessarily mean he had the intent for fatalities…………that statement sums up what you believe in…….carrying a gun is illegal, 15 years of age and using in the course of a felony is something any KID knows, but you seem to think it alright. Lock a 15-year-old kid in jail for a “long long time” for robbing a couple hundred dollars worth of electronics’, no one is talking about locking anyone up for a long time, but your naivete is showing!

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      1. Interesting. He’s brandishing a gun, not just carrying. While we may disagree on his “intent”, we can’t deny he was “capable” of causing death. Going back to intention, when the suspect’s holding the victim at gun point, weren’t he just asking victim to choose to either die or surrender. If the victim know the suspect has no intent to kill, this robbery couldn’t even happen.

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    3. FYI, the “criminal scum” phrase you’re talking about is a sarcastic reference to a popular video game. I’m sure the author of that comment is not overacting like you believe he or she is.

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  30. Funny, I feel like a facilitator reading through everyone’s comments. But I have to say, this string of comments IS TRULY one of the great things about BU – the ability to have this discussion with such differing opinions and conflictual feelings about this stuff. Just remember that this is what they are, differing opinions, not reasons to lose tempers and get aggressive or furious with each other. We are all learning from each other.
    I hope this kind of comment doesn’t piss you all off, but I’m realizing how important it is to be able to have discussions with conflict and then grow from them – possibly together.

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  32. This comment and its mentality is a disgrace to the BU community, and I feel as saddened by it as by the string of robberies that terrorized the university. Some people earlier have talked about how even if victims were not physically harmed, emotional and mental pain can be just as important. Similarly, the type of racial and class prejudice that this comment advocates is just as harmful to a peaceful and diverse community as hold-ups.

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  33. I am frankly surprised that there are so many reactionaries here at BU. Yes, robbery is a crime; yes, the community was on edge; yes, goods were stolen, handguns were brandished, and there was the potential for tragedy. But let’s remain clear-sighted as a community, here. We are talking about teens. Teens from every socioeconomic background do stupid and desperate things. Who among us has not done something we regret as a teen? Were we incapable of learning from it and becoming better people? Those of you advocating for harsh penalties don’t realize that when you send a young kid in to jail for a petty crime, they emerge as a seasoned criminal capable of real destruction. Punishment is essential–don’t get me wrong–but you can teach a lesson with a degree of empathy and kindness as well as with fear and deprivation. To treat this like a heinous crime is a bit ridiculous. I wish I had seen as much moral outrage over the recent sexual assault and rape charges our campus saw in the spring. That is a much more disturbing and damaging issue.

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    1. please pardon my over-simplification, so, is it anyone’s fault, but the suspect, that this robbery happen? Also, a crime is a crime, no matter what adjectives you add to it.

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  34. Unfortunately, everyone has a right to their own opinion which may or may not be valid, but it is yours to voice. I’m happy that no one was hurt in these situations. As a Psychology major it is not uncommon to see this type of behavior for adolescents during their developmental years, *see term below. Let’s hope this mistake teaches these young men a valuable lesson and that a life of deviance will end here for these juveniles.

    *Adolescent-limited offender refers to an individual who usually demonstrates delinquent or antisocial behavior only during his or her teen years then stops offending during the adult years

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  36. As everyone is entitled to their opinion, this post is not meant to offend anyone. However, the flavor of a lot of these posts are condescending, uneducated and in my opinion ignorant. All the “educated” people who are traumatized, wanting this young person’s head to roll and otherwise calling for “justice” should first become familiar with the Juvenile Justice practices in our state. Juvenile’s names our protected from the press because they are just that, juveniles. Do they commit adult crimes, yes they do. Is there a system in place in our state that both holds juveniles accountable and at the same time offers treatment with the hope of changing negative patterns of behaviors and criminal behaviors, yes. We are fortunate to live in a state where “our” kids are not thrown away to the criminal justice system at an early age. There are those of us out there that work everyday in this system to not only help the youth that most people are to busy on their I phones to bother with but to also keep your communities safer. Maybe some of you should go over to Northeastern and speak to a Criminal Justice Major..they maybe able to clear some of this up for you….

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  37. What makes anyone think that this suspect was deprived? Are you saying that just because he is dark-skinned? Maybe he’s from a comfortable middle-class family. Maybe he’s from a well-to-do family (what indications does anyone have to the contrary? After all – he’s got a not inexpensive pair of Air Jordans. At least this criminal has parents who realize thst it is safer for him to be in custody than in the hands of street justice. When someone is a criminal, we just assume that he/she is somehow disadvantaged (it’s easier to assume that since this suspect is a person of color). Here’s what doesn’t matter: His age, his skin color, his economic status, whether he wanted the phone to use or to sell, et. What does matter is he committed a serious crime and he must get a consequence AT LEAST EQUAL to the crime. Bravo whoever (parents, friends, grandparents, minister – or whoever -) got him into custody. Far as I’m concerned, the $10,000 should go toward the tuition of the people who got robbed (who knows – maybe THEY’RE disadvantaged!) None of those involved or related should see a cent.

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  39. C’mon, this suspect turned to lawyer before he turned himself in , here are the keywords: prosecution witness, exoneration, family support which shows that the suspect is not likely to recidivate. Turning himself in out of conscience? No kidding me. Plus, one more possible benefit is that other suspects are caught because of his tips. Pity for them. They robbed as a team, and should have surrendered as a team.

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