Two men have been arrested in connection with an Oct. 4 robbery on the Mississippi Valley State University campus, and the university has adopted stricter security measures to prevent future incidents.
Eddie Swinney, 20, of County Road 513 was arrested by U.S. Marshals on Monday, charged with armed robbery and jailed. Travis Davis, 19, 336 Mitchell St., Itta Bena, was jailed after being arrested by MVSU police Monday.
“We are delighted that we were, with cooperation of the U.S. Marshal’s Office, able to apprehend the individuals for the acts that they committed on our campus,” said MVSU Police Chief Robert Sanders, according to a release from the university.
Immediately after the incident, Christopher Pope was arrested and charged with trespassing. He is a suspect in the robbery.
Sanders vowed after the robberies to increase campus security measures. In today’s release, he said the department is continuing those efforts.
“We are taking a very active stance in preventing future incidents through several mechanisms - from lighting to increased patrols,” Sanders said in the release.
Anyone needing police assistance when leaving a building on campus after hours should call 254-3478. Any visitor to campus now must obtain a visitor’s pass at the front gate. Anyone found without IDs or a pass will be escorted from campus. The exception will be sports-related game days.
Also, according to the release, a new hotline has been activated for reporting campus emergencies. Anyone on campus can call 254-2700 for campus emergencies. Emergency 911 is still encouraged, but calling the on-campus number is intended to provide a faster response.
The Oct. 4 robbery took place around 1:30 a.m. when four males approached two Valley students, who were sitting in a car parked in a lot across from the football stadium. One suspect asked for a cigarette but was denied by the victims. He approached the car a second time and asked for a lighter, which the victims also did not have.
The suspect displayed a gun and demanded the male victim’s wallet and cell phone. The four suspects then fled on foot, crossed U.S. 82 and got into a vehicle parked at the Double Quick.
