Duke Police has developed a composite sketch of the suspect in the Sept. 22 armed robbery on Campus Drive.
At the suggestion of Chief John Dailey of the Duke University Police Department, Duke police asked a forensic sketch artist at North Carolina State University to create an image of the suspect based on the victim’s description, said DUPD Assistant Chief Gloria Graham.
“One of the things I think Chief Dailey brings to the table is he comes from somewhere else,” Graham said. “He highlighted the resource... it isn’t something we’ve done in the past because it isn’t something we knew existed.”
DUPD worked with freshman Neha Sharma to create the composite sketch. Sharma was robbed at gunpoint by a black man of large build near the East Campus bridge as she walked back to East last Tuesday at about 9:45 p.m. Sharma also described the suspect’s clothing and vehicle.
Graham said DUPD thinks the Campus Drive robbery may be linked to another armed robbery that also occurred Sept. 22, “but we don’t have enough to say that,” she said.
In a Tuesday news release, Durham Police requested community assistance in identifying the suspect in a robbery at a BP convenience store on North Roxboro Street that occurred at 10:32 p.m. the same night Sharma was robbed. The suspect in the BP robbery is described as a large-built black male carrying a long gun.
“[Our] investigator is working with [the Durham Police Department], who is still IDing their suspect,” Graham said. “Our hope is one of us will get a tip or get a lead, and then we can investigate and determine whether or not they’re related.”
DUPD sent the composite to DPD and to CrimeStoppers to ask for leads and tips.
Kammie Michael, public information officer for the Durham Police Deparment, said she forwarded the drawing to Durham officers to see whether they recognize the suspect.
Graham said she thinks composite drawings could be useful to DUPD’s investigations for this and future cases. She said DUPD would consider requesting a composite drawing for suspects in violent crimes, adding that they could also be used in property crimes but only on a case-by-case basis.
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