Columbus Police made an arrest Sunday after a series of aggravated robberies near Ohio State, including a campus abduction.
News sources have named the man as 21-year-old Jeffrey York, who is a suspect in four recent aggravated robberies.
The first incident occurred Tuesday, Oct. 6, when a male reported that he was abducted near East 15th Avenue and North High Street at 11:30 p.m.
He was then taken to the East Side in a black vehicle while being held at gunpoint with a black automatic firearm and revolver.
After being forced to withdraw money from an ATM, the victim was released near South James Road and East Main Street.
“There are multiple incidences that are related to this individual,” said Sgt. James Jardine of the Columbus Police Robbery Squad. “We feel that the four occurrences that happened on the same night are related.”
In addition to the first armed robbery, a male and female reported that they were robbed last Tuesday at the corner of King and Hunter avenues at 11:10 p.m. According to reports, the couple was walking in front of a church when a man exited a nearby car and demanded money at gunpoint. After robbing the couple, the man got back into the dark sedan and fled with three other men in the car.
On Friday morning, two more pedestrians reported that they were robbed on South Fourth Street, but York has not been named as a suspect in this crime.
“There are still four suspects out with additional crimes that we are still searching for,” Jardine said. “More information will be released as soon as possible.”
Detectives are continuing to investigate the robberies, and police are still searching for other suspects.
Police urge students to continue being cautious while walking near campus.
Anyone with information regarding these crimes is asked to call Columbus Police at 614-645-4545, OSU Police at 614-292-2121, Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477 or University Crime Stoppers at 614-247-8477.
