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SALT LAKE CITY — University of Utah police are asking for the public's help in finding a person who robbed a student of a new $2,500 computer in broad daylight.
University police Sgt. Kory Newbold said officers were called to the scene of the robbery in a parking lot of the Marriott Library at 2:10 pm on Saturday. Investigators said surveillance video showed a man shopping in the University Book Store for a computer while the suspected thief was also in the store observing the victim select the computer.
The man left the bookstore and waited for the victim to exit, Newbold said. When the victim walked outside with his newly purchased laptop, the suspect started to follow him through the parking lot, where he eventually attacked the victim by grabbing him in a bear hug, he said. The victim resisted and a short struggle ensued, but the computer fell to the ground and the thief grabbed it and fled through the parking lot.
The victim suffered some minor injuries to his hands and an elbow, Newbold said. The robber ran to an awaiting car and got into the passenger side door with a driver waiting ready to go, he said.
Police are asking help in identifying the thief from a video and pictures of the getaway vehicle.
The man is described as a white male in his late 20s to early 30s, 5-feet 10-inches to 6-feet tall with blond hair that is cut short like a crew cut. The male was seen getting into a dark gray Toyota Camry with dark tinted windows.
Anyone with information should contact the University of Utah Department of Public Safety at 801-585-2677.
