UH Police arrested and charged a suspect in connection with Saturday’s robbery and kidnapping of a UH student from parking lot 16-C.
Leo Jacobs, 26, was arrested and charged with aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping Tuesday, charges to which he later confessed. Jacobs approached 25-year-old Andrew Richards, a student who was walking to the parking lot after leaving a UH baseball game early.
Jacobs asked Richards to borrow money, then pulled out a gun and forced Richards into his own car.
Jacobs made Richards drive to an ATM on Elgin and Scott Street before making him drive to another in Rosenberg.
Police Chief Malcolm Davis said Richards did nothing to provoke the suspect.
‘He was at the wrong place at the right time,’ Davis said.
After trips to two ATMs, police said the suspect had Richards take him to buy drugs.
Richards then dropped Jacobs off at a friend’s Rosenberg apartment complex, police said. Jacobs left Richard’s car with a total of $41 and let Richards go.
Davis said the UH Department of Public Safety and other law enforcement worked together swiftly to bring the case to a close.
He said ‘old fashion police work’ brought about police’s quick response.
Without Richards’s ability to keep a cool head, the investigation would have been more difficult, said Davis.
‘The victim did really well he did not lose his composure and was able to take us back to some spots where they had been,’ Davis said.
Police said they used surveillance camera footage captured at the first ATM to identify Jacobs. They also said a store’s security camera shows Jacobs walking in and up to the counter. Jacobs made three calls on Richards’s phone, police said, that they used to contact people for questioning.’
‘Last night they called and came in to talk to us and he was with them,’ Davis said.
Jacobs is in jail with bail set at $60,000. Police said Jacobs might be a key suspect in another Rosenberg robbery investigation.
UH students were alerted about the incident Saturday via e-mail. Campus police’s e-mail notifications are in accordance with federal statue. The Clery Act requires all colleges and universities that participate in federal financial aid programs to record and disclose information about crime on and near campuses. Clery Act compliance is monitored by the U.S. Department of Education.
Violation of the act can lead to civil penalties up to $27,500 per violation. Infractions can also lead to an institution’s suspension from participating in federal student financial aid programs.
