Campus mugger convicted of 2nd-degree felony

Suzi Starheim

The man charged with four counts of aggravated robbery at the beginning of the semester was found guilty on a lesser charge of two of those counts.

Benjamin J. Clevidence, 23, of Loudonville was arrested on Sept. 3 on charges of robbery and complicity to aggravated robbery.

Both charges were dismissed in the Portage County Municipal Court, and four new charges of aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, were filed in the Common Pleas Court, said Monica Rumsey, criminal clerk for the Portage County Felony Division.

Clevidence entered the Common Pleas Court with a written plea of guilt on Nov. 20, resulting in the third and fourth counts of aggravated robbery being dropped and the first and second being negotiated down to robbery, a second-degree felony.

Clevidence was involved with the robbery on the University Esplanade near the Kent Hall annex on Aug. 30.

Cedric P. Harden, 18, of Richmond Heights was charged with one count of aggravated robbery. He had a pre-trial on Nov. 30, and his trial is set for Dec. 15.

Harden was the second suspect arrested in connection with the Aug. 30 robberies on and off campus.

– Suzi Starheim