Daily Archives: 02 March 2015

Students robbed near 16th and Oxford streets

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Two students were robbed on 16th and Oxford streets around 8:45 p.m. Sunday, police said.

The students were walking on Oxford Street towards 16th Street and were approached by a male who displayed a handgun, Charlie Leone, executive director of Campus Safety Services said in an email. No injuries were reported.

Two cellphones and a wallet were taken. The suspect then fled west on Oxford Street, Leone said. He is described as thin, with a mustache, wearing a dark jacket over a gray hooded sweatshirt.

Lian Parsons can be reached at lian.parsons@temple.edu or on Twitter @Lian_Parsons.

Suspect arrested for murder of student

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A Camden man sought in connection with the Jan. 24 murder of a Temple student turned himself in to police Friday, according to a press release.

Leonaldo Rivera, 25, of the 200 block of Erie Street in Camden, New Jersey, is charged with murder, attempted murder and unlawful possession of a firearm in the shooting of Alejandro Rojas-Garcia in the Feltonville neighborhood of Philadelphia.

Rojas-Garcia, 34, was driving down the 4200 block of Macalester Street in his Chevrolet Trailblazer when a suspect fired at his car, killing him and wounding a passenger, police said.

Two weeks after the shooting, Rojas-Garcia’s family held a vigil on that block, where they discussed peaceful methods of resolving conflict and the life of the advertising major and father of two who was also called “Alex” and “Luchi.”

Alex’s mother, Aleida Garcia, said she had been calm at the funeral but the vigil changed her mood.

“I am committed to finding justice for my son, for that person who pulled a gun on my son,” Garcia said. “I give you my word here today, standing in front of the place that my son died, that I am committed to justice. And I want you all to be with me.”

Rivera was arraigned Friday when he turned himself in, and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 18.

Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@temple.edu or on Twitter @JBrandt_TU.