Asa Fix
News Reporter

On Oct. 3, four Mesa State students were arrested in connection with robbing two fellow students behind Albertson’s grocery. Mesa State student Keith Blackmon, 19, contacted Alex Macedo and Seth Snyder to illegally purchase a half ounce of marijuana from them, according to Grand Junction Police. Snyder and Macedo allegedly told Christopher Hale, 20, and Blackmon to meet them behind Albertson’s where Snyder had parked his vehicle. Hale met them behind the store in his own car with Blackmon in the passenger seat and told Snyder and Macedo to get in the back to make the transaction, according to the police arrest affidavit.
Kate Porras, Grand Junction Police Information Coordinator, said, “This didn’t actually take place on Mesa State’s campus, but it involved students. Obviously this was not just a robbery, it was a drug deal. The best advice I can give anyone is to not get involved with illegal drugs. A lot of it is the people you get associated with. If you make smart decisions about the kind of people you want to hang out with, then your chances of getting into trouble are going to be less.”
When the transaction was about to take place, Enyinna Irechukwu, 19, and Joshua Green, 19, dressed in long-sleeved clothing, and either a mask or shirt over their faces, approached the car.
Irechukwu opened the rear passenger side door and punched Snyder in the face and allegedly said, “This is a robbery, give me the weed, give me everything.”
Macedo saw one of them reach into his waistband and grab the handle of a gun. Hale got out of the car and ran down the parking lot. He then saw Green act like he punched Blackmon and then pulled Macedo out of the car and started taking his things before Hale jumped over the retaining wall.
Macedo and Snyder reported the robbery to police the next day, but they had claimed that they were getting in the car to get something to eat when they were robbed.
Police interviewed the victims as well as Hale and Blackmon and found out that the robbery was a set up between Hale, Blackmon, Irechukwu and Green. They allegedly decided to rob Macedo for marijuana because Hale had been “ripped off by him before.”
Irechukwu and Green allegedly took wallets, cell phones, and marijuana from Macedo and Snyder. Macedo also said they took his hat, belt, and watch, according to the arrest affidavit.
Irechukwu, Green, Hale and Blackmon were arrested. Irechukwu was booked on suspicion of aggravated robbery, first-degree criminal trespass, theft of less than $500 and third-degree assault. From the latest report, he still remains in the Mesa County Jail on $60,000 bond.
Green was booked on suspicion of aggravated robbery. Blackmon and Hale were booked on suspicion of conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, Grand Junction Police said. All three are free on $10,000 bond.
u
ajfix@mesastate.edu