Students walking around Midtown can breathe easier, as Gainesville Police arrested two people in connection with two January robberies in the area.
Rasheem Kwamaine Roddey, 18, of Jacksonville and a 16-year-old boy now face unarmed robbery, fraud and misdemeanor marijuana charges, according to a GPD arrest report.
The first happened Jan. 21, while Jeffrey Michael Voigt, a 22-year-old UF chemical engineering senior, was walking home from Midtown at about 1:30 a.m.
A group of four people followed Voigt from Fat Daddy’s and surrounded him, he said. One of the men in the group asked Voigt for his wallet and PIN. Voigt handed over his wallet and information to the group.
The next night, a group stole 21-year-old UF student Ryan Eugene Davis’ Samsung Galaxy S III cellphone in the same area, according to a GPD incident report. On Jan. 29, Davis saw Roddey and the boy in the Midtown area.
Davis called police, who responded at about 9:30 p.m. Police arrested Roddey and the boy, according to the report.
Police now believe they were connected to Voight’s robbery as well. Officers charged them again Wednesday afternoon.
Police issued additional charges to Roddey in the Alachua County Jail, where’s he’s been since Jan. 30. As of Thursday night, Roddey remained in custody with a $175,000 bond.
Contact Kathryn Varn at kvarn@alligator.org.
