Employee Robbed at Knifepoint in Leavey Così
Updated at 7:55 a.m. on October 20.
A Così Restaurant employee was tied to a chair and robbed at knifepoint as a thief made off with nearly $2,000 from the Leavey Center restaurant on Sunday evening, according to a Metropolitan Police Department incident report.
Così supervisor Dennes Spriggs was in the restaurant’s office at about 6:30 p.m., well after the listed 5 p.m. weekend closing time, when an unknown male approached her with a knife and grabbed her neck. The suspect forced her to open a safe, reportedly saying, “Shut up, open the safe! Don’t say anything!”
The suspect then produced a black bag and asked Spriggs to drop all of the money from the safe into the bag, before forcing her to a chair and tying her hands with a cord. The suspect fled with $1,983 in cash.
The suspect was described in a Public Safety Alert sent to the Georgetown community as a black male, about 6-foot-1, wearing all black clothing, a bandanna covering his face and a black hat with the word “Così” printed on it. No other physical description appears in the MPD report.
After the suspect fled, Spriggs screamed for help and a fellow employee found her in the kitchen area. The second employee released Spriggs, according to the report.
The incident was reported to the Department of Public Safety, which immediately called MPD for assistance, according to DPS Associate Director Sgt. Joseph Smith. According to the report, MPD was notified at 6:50 p.m. A Second District detective and a crime scene investigation team responded to the scene, and the MPD Command Information Center was notified.
An investigation is ongoing, Smith said.
GERMS responded to the scene to treat Spriggs for a minor arm laceration but, according to the MPD report, she refused medical attention.
The Public Safety Alert was sent via e-mail to the Georgetown community at 10:47 p.m. Sunday. This is the first time an armed robbery has occurred on Georgetown’s campus since July 31, 2007, Smith said.
Così plans to look into improving its security system after this incident, Smith said.
“DPS will work in a consulting capacity with ARAMARK Corporation, which operates the Così Restaurant, to review its current security profile and make recommendations where the need indicates,” Smith said.
Smith declined to comment about the possibility of the suspect being affiliated with the university.
Oct 19 2009 at 12:30 a.m.
A robbery at 6:30 pm in a fairly populated building is really scary. Maybe campus police officers should be armed...
Oct 19 2009 at 4:03 a.m.
NO. Let's not follow that ellipsis to its conclusion, Concerned. It ends in students with gunshot wounds.
Oct 19 2009 at 8:39 a.m.
Yes, let's get more guns on campus so that more accidents can happen. I never liked toilets anyway.
Oct 19 2009 at 2:42 p.m.
Guns don't kill people, people kill people.
Oct 19 2009 at 4:11 p.m.
And look at how this ended without anybody armed, and no security around. The suspect got away, and an employee was injured. You must be kidding yourself if you think that an unarmed security officer is going to pursue an armed suspect that has already harmed an innocent victim.
Oct 21 2009 at 8:45 a.m.
Georgetown University is spiraling out of control. There is no reason that all this VIOLENT crime should be happening on your campus.
The Georgetown University Administration took steps to improve the Department of Public Safety, by replacing Director Darryl Harrison, but obviously the problems persist.
Although I agree that DPS Officers (who are sworn police officers), should be armed, since they are expected to perform the duties as a MPD officer for Georgetown University. I think one of the first steps the Georgetown University Administration should take, is to take a look at how a similar law enforcement agency right down the road operates.
The George Washington University Police Department serves a major university community in downtown Washington DC and has no campus or gates. The entire "campus" sits amongst the city streets and the city streets sits amongst the campus. And due to the heavy traffic pedestrian and traffic flow, GW should be a much more prime target for the criminal element.
But guess what??? GW rarely sees violent crimes of the nature which Georgetown University sees. This higher level of safety can directly be attributed GW's University Police Department and their proactive policing methodologies.
Georgetown University seriously needs to follow a similar path.
Oct 21 2009 at 12:48 p.m.
I find the argument that law enforcement officers shouldn't be armed because students will get shot pretty absurd in the abstract, but unless DPS has increased its overall competency level a great deal since I was at GU, I would certainly oppose arming any of them in particular.
Oct 21 2009 at 6:04 p.m.
The argument that GW has lower crime and that DPS should have guns doesn't make sense. GW doesn't have guns (and recently decided not to pursue getting guns). GW, on the other hand, is surrounded by local and federal law enforcement and gets the benefit of significant law enforcement visibility. It's like living next to a police station around there.
Jan 22 2010 at 4:31 p.m.
why does DPS even put their lives on the line for you.
and wow must of the current last 12 DPS hires are prior law enforcement or military.
you idiots