Advertisement 3 teens targeted college students in racially-motivated crime spree, sheriff says USC students targets of armed robberies, kidnapping, near sexual assault, deputies say Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Three teenagers have been arrested in an escalating crime spree that the Richland County sheriff says was racially motivated.Sheriff Leon Lott said the crimes had escalated from robbing delivery people, to carjacking to a narrowly escaped sexual assault attempt.Lott said Raquan Green, 17, and two 15-year-olds whose names will not be released because of their ages, targeted their victims by race. "This was a crime spree. They would not have stopped," Lott said. "They made a statement that they did not like white people and they were only going to rob white people."Lott said one of the victims, who was African-American, told investigators she was released by the suspects when they found out she was not white. "Between July 3 and July 26 there have been seven separate incidents of armed robberies, some to include carjacking and kidnapping along the Bluff /Shop Road Corridor," Lott said. "Investigators discovered that the suspects began targeting delivery drivers by committing armed robberies. The crimes then escalated to carjacking and kidnapping victims."The crime spree started on July 3 when a food delivery driver was robbed. Two more incidents of food delivery robberies happened on July 15 and July 17. A food delivery driver was robbed and forced to drive to an ATM to withdraw money on July 19. All the incidents happened late at night where delivery drivers were targeted and students were moving into student housing or leaving apartments in the area. The suspects stole cash, cell phones, and various electronics. The incidents include:July 3, 11:30 p.m.: Delivery driver from China Wing Basket robbed at gunpoint on the 100 block of Aster CircleJuly 15, 7:50 p.m.: Teapot Chinese Restaurant delivery driver robbed at gunpoint at 1051 Southern, the Village at Columbia ApartmentsJuly 17, 7:13 p.m.: Delivery driver was robbed and assaulted at 1612 Bentley CourtJuly 19, 11:40 p.m.: Delivery driver kidnapped at Village at Columbia Apartments at 1050 Southern DriveJuly 25, 1:30 a.m.: Victim kidnapped Stadium suites at 112 Silo Court.July 25, 2 a.m.: Victim was robbed, carjacked and kidnapped at Stadium SuitesJuly 26, 1:15 a.m.: Victim was robbed and kidnapped at Village at Columbia Apartments at 1050 Southern Drive.Midlands Tech and former USC student Jordan Dinsmore, who spoke at a news conference, said she was returning home from work on July 26 around 12:15 a.m. at The Village Apartments on Southern Drive when three black males pushed her to the ground and held a gun to her head.The police incident report by Dinsmore said the men threatened to kill Dinsmore unless she drove them to a nearby ATM. She complied, the report said, and withdrew $300 from her account. Dinsmore said after one of the men told her she was going to be used for sex at his "auntie's" house, she jumped out of her moving vehicle on Blair Road. Dinsmore tweeted: “Please be careful you guys. I almost died tonight. I wanted to remind everyone to be safe when coming home late at night because I was just attacked, kidnapped and held at gunpoint from my apartment door. The only reason I wasn’t raped and most likely killed was because I kept my head and jumped out of my own moving vehicle on a busy street to get away. Thank you to the kind woman who heard my screaming and stopped her care for me and to Richland PD for responding instantly and giving me my new nickname, James Bond.”“I thought back to my mom,” Dinsmore said at the news conference, choking back tears. “She was almost a victim of sexual assault when she was a college student. But she fought back and fought the man off. And I thought, ‘I’m gonna be strong like my mom, and I’m gonna get myself out of this.”Deputies responded to the scene and located the Dismore's empty car. A K-9 unit was brought out to search for the suspects, but they were not found. Last weekend, a 20-year-old student said he and his roommate were returning home when they were approached by three males with guns. The man and his roommate were driven to an ATM at gunpoint. The victims said the robbers got $600 before abandoning the students in a nearby parking lot.The three arrested teenagers are expected to face a slew of charges in the crime spree.