Arrest Made in Armed Robberies Suspect turns himself in; search continues for accomplices

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).