A man was arrested early Wednesday morning after an alleged armed robbery in downtown State College and pursuit by State College and Penn State Police.
The suspect, whom police identified by his driver’s license as Trevor Rodriguez, 27, was charged with multiple accounts of robbery, simple assault and theft after he allegedly pointed a gun at two individuals and took money, a debit card and cell phones from them shortly after 2 a.m., according to the criminal complaint filed by State College Police.
A group of four people were walking on West Calder Way near South Burrowes Street when a man emerged from behind a dumpster and pointed a gun at two members of the group who had been trailing behind the others. The victims said the suspect demanded their wallets and money, and he took $10 in cash and a debit card from one before walking away. They said he turned around and demanded their cell phones while still holding the gun and they handed the phones to him.
The other two members of the group saw what was happening and called police, who arrived at the scene at 2:23 a.m. and observed a man matching the suspect’s description standing at the intersection of South Burrowes Street and New Alley. A State College Police officer called out to the suspect as a Penn State Police patrol car approached as well.
The suspect then fled west on New Alley as State College Police pursued on foot and Penn State Police followed in a patrol car. According to the criminal complaint, Rodriguez ducked into the covered parking garage for the James Elliott Building where he was seen going behind a large electrical box, where police say he dropped a gun.
Police say they ordered Rodriguez to lay down on the ground and when he refused they tackled him and took him into custody. They allegedly found him to be in possession of a debit card and two cell phones later confirmed to belong to the two victims. Police also recovered a black CO2 pellet revolver behind the electrical box in the parking garage, according to the court documents.
Rodriguez was arraigned before District Judge Carmine Prestia and is being held at the Centre County Correctional Facility in lieu of $300,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 10.
