Police arrested two men, one of them a student, in connection with Saturday’s robbery at Cambridge Oaks Apartments.
UHPD Chief Ceaser Moore said in Tuesday’s press conference about the Cambridge Oaks robbery that students’ fears should not be heightened because the crime was not random, as initially suspected. | Mahnoor Samana/The Daily Cougar
James Manns was arrested at about 6:30 a.m. today in Pearland and has been charged with aggravated robbery with a pending additional aggravated robbery charge, said UH police chief Ceaser Moore in a press conference.
At 7:30 a.m., Samy Gharbaoui was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana, Moore said.
Gharbaoui, a student living in Cambridge Oaks, had sold drugs to Manns earlier the day of the robbery, Moore said. Later on, Manns texted Gharbaoui asking for more, but Gharbaoui was not at his apartment. Manns and three others then went to Gharbaoui’s apartment and proceeded to rob the other two residents at gunpoint and search for the drugs.
“This crime was not a stranger-on-stranger crime,” Moore said. “He was going back to get more drugs.”
Moore said that because the crime was not random, students don’t need to take this as an indicator of personal danger.
“Other students on campus are not at risk of being victimized by other people invading their residences,” Moore said.
Through the course of the investigation, police uncovered a safe full of Adderall, ecstasy, LSD and marijuana.
Manns was already on bail for possession of marijuana, and police are seeking to have that revoked in addition to the charge already brought against him.
Moore said he has no specific plans to increase the security presence on campus in response to recent crimes.
“This was a relationship issue, and an increased patrol will not change that,” Moore said. “That’s one of those things where people need to be vigilant, and if they see something, they should say something.”
Police are still working to identify the other three suspects who accompanied Manns, Moore said.
I’m glad nobody was hurt, and I realize this was a drug-related crime. I think the chief should have used this opportunity to remind dorm residents not to open the door for people they don’t know.
I feel like it is unfair for the drug dealer to be essentially penalized for prosecuting the armed robber. This is sending a message to students saying that dealing with drugs will forfeit your protection against armed threats. Gharbaoui is not a threat to the community and should not be arrested as a result of assisting police in investigating the robbery. This is the same reason so many kids are afraid to go to the hospital to treat overdoses on illicit drugs; we should not have to sacrifice our safety out of fear of the government. The police would have had no reason to suspect or search Gharbaoui before the robbery, and all this is telling students is not to seek help if they have any reason to be prosecuted themselves. It is also telling armed criminals they can go after anyone possessing illicit drugs, without fear of being charged against if the victim does not want to be arrested themselves. I understand that the police have the responsibility of enforcing all laws, including those against drug possession, but I would hope that UHPD’s number one responsibility is the safety of our students, drug dealers or not, and this whole ordeal is somewhat destructive in upholding that value.
Perhaps dealing with violent drug dealers on campus is not a good thing for the campus overall. It’s only because of the dealings that the armed robber came. Based on the article, it doesn’t seem his two roommates were associated with his drug dealings, but they got robbed as a result. I’m pretty sure Gharbaoui shouldn’t just get away scott-free for his actions that led to this.
At least if he didn’t want to be caught, he could have sent some anonymous call or e-mail or called 713-222-TIPS if he wanted to get the robbers.