UP arrests juvenile trespasser near Castor
University Police arrested a 16-year-old male at the bike racks on the south side of Castor Hall on Saturday afternoon. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is still looking for the three other males reported to have been with him. ORACLE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU
On Saturday afternoon, University Police (UP) received reports of four suspicious young males around the bike racks outside Juniper Poplar Residence Hall. However, arriving officers were not able to locate the suspects.
“They (officers) proceeded throughout the rest of the campus in the residential areas, and they saw the individuals at the south part of Castor hall near the bike racks again,” Lt. Charlotte Domingo of UP said.
While three of the suspects fled northbound on bikes — at this time, UP is uncertain if those bikes were stolen from the bike racks — toward Avalon Heights, the fourth was arrested by UP around the bike racks at Castor Residence Hall and was identified as not a student. After the arrest, UP discovered the male was carrying a concealed firearm.
“Since we were not able to contact them, we were not able to verify what bikes they were on. That is part of the ongoing investigation,” Domingo said.
The 16-year-old male is being charged with loitering and prowling, minor in possession of a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon.
At this time, there is no update on the other three suspects, though the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) has been alerted. The remaining suspects are described as black, male juveniles, one shirtless and another in red and blue clothing.
There has been no update from HCSO, but Domingo said the investigating is ongoing.
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