by Amy Davis
News Editor
The University of Houston Police Department is searching for a black male who robbed a UH student of $16 with a semi-automatic handgun Monday morning behind Moody Towers, police said.
The suspect had been playing basketball with the victim's roommate and another friend at the outdoor basketball courts by Entrance 6, according to the UH Office of Public Affairs. The victim stopped by the courts at 1:10 a.m. to tell his friends he was going to the Towers. As he left, the suspect walked with him, departing at Lot 5B, where he got into a two-door, late 1980s, gold Ford Thunderbird. As the student approached the stairs in the corner of Lot 5B, the Thunderbird pulled up and the suspect got out of the car with a gun and demanded the student's money. The student gave the suspect $16 and ran down the stairs into Moody Towers. The student said he saw three other males in the car who were possibly juveniles.
Police described the suspect as a black male between 5 feet 8 inches and 6 feet in height with a tall, thin build, weighing approximately 160 pounds. The man, estimated to be about 16 to 20 years of age, was wearing a white T-shirt, white pants and dark Nike tennis shoes.
The student was not injured, but he did not see which direction the car went after the robbery.
UHPD Lt. Skip Durant said the students playing basketball with the suspect were questioned, but did not know anything about the suspect.