Crime & Safety
Ballwin Man Robbed Six UMSL Students Near Campus, Police Say
Police said Tremayne J. Valdez or one of two other men also pistol-whipped one of the students who did not immediately obey their commands.
A Ballwin man helped rob six University of Missouri—St. Louis students and possibly pistol-whipped one of the students, police said.
Tremayne Jamaal Valdez, 19, of the 800 block of Village Meadow Drive in Ballwin, was charged Saturday with four counts of first-degree robbery, five counts of armed criminal action and one count of second-degree assault.
Bel Nor police said Valdez and other men displayed handguns and told six UMSL students to get down on the ground near the UMSL campus Sept. 6. One victim initially refused to get down, and one of the men pistol-whipped him, cutting the student’s face.
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A court document indicated officers aren’t sure which of the accused robbers struck the student with a weapon.
Police said the men then searched the students and their possessions, taking cell phones and wallets.
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Valdez was arrested in the city of St. Louis and had a .22 cal Harrington & Richardson revolver.
Valdez is being held in the St. Louis City Justice Center. Bail was set at $150,000.
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