North Bassett Street: Robbery

A man stole an iPhone from a 19-year-old woman as she was walking down the street on North Bassett Street on the night of March 26.

The woman was texting as she walked down the street and passed two men, according to a Madison Police Department statement. One of the men she passed then pushed her from behind and grabbed her phone, the statement said. It said after the suspect had stole the phone, both men ran away.

The statement described the man who stole the phone as being a black male in his twenties, 5 foot 10 inches, 160 pounds and wearing a dark gray beanie hat and blue jeans.

Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said most stolen phones are not found. He said the phones that are returned and recovered usually have tracking devices. He said tracking devices are somewhat common on higher-end phones and other electronic devices, such as tablets and laptops.

Verveer said many phones do not have this technology. Most of these phones do not end up being recovered and returned to the rightful owner, he said.

“Unfortunately, this crime is somewhat commonplace downtown and tends to happen more often in the later night hours,” Verveer said.

He said this robbery was unusual because it happened relatively early in the night around 7 p.m. He said robberies tend to happen before and after bar time, as opposed to this early in the day.

University Avenue: Weapons Violation

A man arrived at a local hospital with a small cut near his eye after a dispute on University Avenue early Saturday morning.

The victim said he received the cut intervening in a fight, according to a Madison Police Department statement.

The statement said the victim was walking down the 700 block of University Avenue when he saw a man and a woman arguing. He said he began to intervene because he thought their disagreement was about to get physical, the statement said.

The victim said another man, who he thought was with the couple, also intervened, pulled out a knife and cut the victim, according to the statement.

The cut the man received did not require stitches, the statement said. He did not have any identification, therefore the police do not know his age or the city where he lives.

The victim described the man who cut him as a black male, around 6 foot 5 inches, with a medium build and a short beard, the statement said.

Madison Police Department spokesperson Joel DeSpain said the police department has not yet found any evidence to corroborate the incident the man claimed.

“We’re still trying to take a hard look at his story,” DeSpain said. “This is what he told us happened.”

He said the incident is still under investigation.