Three men robbed a man at gunpoint on State Street during busy Friday night hours, but the police were unable to locate the suspects partly because neither the victim nor any witnesses reported the crime for several minutes, according to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4.
A Madison Police Department report said the 22-year-old male victim was walking on the 400 block of State Street at approximately 10:55 p.m. when three men approached him and demanded money.
Verveer said a “shoving match ensued” when the victim refused, at which point one of the suspects displayed a handgun he was carrying.
According to the police report, the suspects fled without any of the victim’s money. However, Verveer said the suspects stole the victim’s cell phone during the struggle.
Neither the victim nor witnesses reported the incident until about five or 10 minutes after it happened, according to Verveer, who said the time lapse was one reason police were unsuccessful in arresting the suspects.
Verveer said “unfortunately it’s not shocking to hear about a mugging.” However, he said the crime was unusual because of the populous time and place and the weapon involved.
“Certainly it was a very brazen crime occurring on a busy Friday night on State Street,” Verveer said. “I don’t quite understand why more witnesses didn’t see this occur and call the cops immediately or intervene.”
According to Verveer, the robbery occurred in an area heavily monitored by city surveillance cameras, so he said he is “hopeful” investigators will be able to identify and apprehend the suspects.
Police described the attackers as three black males in their 20s. The suspect who displayed the weapon was shorter than the other two suspects who were described as approximately 6-feet-tall, both wearing black pants, one wearing a gray shirt and the other wearing a gray sweatshirt.
The victim was not injured in the robbery, according to the report.
