Police searching for suspects in early morning robberies

Lawrence police are searching for suspects in three robbery cases that all occurred around 2 a.m. Saturday in Oread neighborhood.

Lawrence Police Sgt. Susan Hadl said two 21-year-old KU students were walking home from a bar in the 1400 block of Ohio Street around 2 a.m. Saturday when they were accosted in a parking lot of Emery Place apartments, 1419 Ohio. The victims described two suspects, both black males approximately 6 feet tall and wearing dark clothing and jeans.

While they were not certain of a weapon being involved, the victims said the suspects came at them from behind and feigned weapons at their heads, demanding money. The students relinquished an undisclosed amount of money and the robbers then fled eastbound and possibly north.

A similar incident occurred around 1:50 a.m. in a parking lot at 14th Street and Alumni Place where a delivery driver was approached by two suspects, said Capt. Schuyler Bailey with Kansas University Public Safety.

One of the men hit the driver before taking his money. No weapons were involved, Bailey said.

The suspects were two black males in their mid-20s, around 6 feet tall and weighing 180 pounds. Both were wearing dark clothing.

Another robbery occurred around 1:45 a.m. in the 1300 block of Ohio Street. Four black males reportedly approached a man with a knife and took money from the man’s wallet. The victim was unharmed, Lawrence Police Sgt. Dave Hubbel said.

Saturday’s robberies came a week after a 27-year-old man was robbed while walking in a downtown alley between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m. The suspects had a handgun and demanded that the victim hand over his wallet.

Another early Saturday morning robbery involving a semi-automatic handgun was reported in the 1000 block of Mississippi Street on May 16. And a month before, a woman reported having her purse stolen by four men in the 1200 block of Ohio Street.