Tip leads to arrest of suspects in robbery near Art Building

Suzi Starheim

University police made four arrests, including three students, Wednesday in connection to the robbery behind the Art Building on Nov. 22.

Police arrested students Jose Lino, 18, of Akron; Daejshon Norton, 18, of Erie, Pa.; and Mykel Benson, 18, of Cleveland. The fourth person arrested in the robbery is a juvenile and is not a Kent State student. His name was not released.

A tip provided by a student, along with campus surveillance systems, helped police identify all four suspects.

The Nov. 22 robbery happened after 3 a.m. in the university commons north of the Art Building. The two victims were treated for minor injuries, and they provided descriptions of four suspects.

Kent State Police Chief John Peach has said his department will increase patrols on campus, and the Kent Police Department is sending its patrols in “full force” around the city, a police spokesman said.

The surge of police presence is in response to a string of robberies and violence around the city, including the fatal assault of business major Christopher M. Kernich downtown in mid-November.

On Nov. 21, three students were robbed at gunpoint in a parking lot near campus. They weren’t hurt, and nothing was stolen.

And at the beginning of November, a series of six thefts on and off campus targeted Honda Civics.

– Suzi Starheim