Two victims jumped, robbed in strong-arm robberies

By Mark Tower
May. 8, 2010    ·    11:44 a.m.

Victims were assaulted and cash was stolen by unarmed robbers in two strong-arm robberies Friday evening in downtown Ypsilanti.

A 46-year-old man, an Ypsilanti resident, told Ypsilanti Police he was jumped and robbed at 6:45 p.m. Friday on the street near the 10 block of North Normal Street near downtown Ypsilanti, police reported.

When the man reported the robbery to police about an hour later, no suspects could be located in the area. The victim said he was walking home when he was jumped by two black men, who went through his pockets and stole an undisclosed amount of money.

He told police that everything happened so fast, all he could remember about the two robbers was that they were two black men, in their 20s and 30s, one heavyset with a dark jacket, and one with a thin build and a white T-shirt.

The victim was not seriously injured in the incident, though police said he did have a bloody nose and some swelling to his face.

The investigation into the robbery is ongoing, Ypsilanti Police said, but no suspects have yet been identified.

The second strong-arm robbery Friday was reported to police at 9:19 p.m. by a 58-year-old Ypsilanti man, who said a man shoved him to the ground and stole cash from him as he left a party store on the 900 block of West Michigan Avenue near downtown Ypsilanti.

The victim, who sustained only minor injuries in the incident, said he went into the store to get change for a large bill. When he left, he said a black man shoved him to the ground and said, “Give me that money.” The suspect, according to police, then took the cash out of the victim's pocket and fled towards the northwest.

Police said K-9 units tracked the robber through vegetation the suspect had stomped down while fleeing, but said the trail ended in an area contaminated by other pedestrians.

The suspect is described by police only as a black man wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt. The investigation is ongoing, police said, and police have identified a possible second suspect who may have acted as a lookout or accomplice in the robbery.

Home invasion
Two Ypsilanti women living in an apartment on the 700 block of Green Road in Ypsilanti told police at 10:39 p.m. Friday that they came home to find their ground floor window screen cut and items missing from the residence.

The victims, a 22-year-old woman and a 23-year-old woman, told Ypsilanti Police that old shoes, duffel bags and a checkbook were missing from the apartment.

Car window smashed
Ypsilanti Police responded at 2:55 p.m. to the report of a window smashed out and a wallet stolen out of a Volkswagon Beetle parked on the 400 block of North Hamilton Street in Ypsilanti.

The victim reported only the wallet with $25 was missing from the car. Police have not identified a suspect in the incident.

Domestic Violence
Ypsilanti Police arrested man at 2 p.m. Friday on the 1300 block of Huron River Drive in Ypsilanti for domestic violence.

YPD reported that the man, the ex-boyfriend of a woman living at the residence, broke down the door of the apartment and fought his ex-girlfriend. No injuries were reported by police.

The ex-boyfriend was arrested at the scene when police arrived, and was then transported to Washtenaw County Jail pending arraignment.