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Student stabbed, suspect at large
Sophomore foils theft, police lose perp after confusion over crime
By David Pollan
dpollan@mscd.edu

Photo by Jenn LeBlanc • jkerriga@mscd.edu The sidewalk at the corner of parking Lot E and Fifth Street became a crime scene Oct. 4 when Metro student Sir Larry Cain interrupted someone rummaging through his vehicle and attempted to stop him before being stabbed by the suspect. Since Cain’s vehicle was parked on the street and the initial crime occurred in Denver, the Denver Police Department took charge of the investigation.

The suspect in an aggravated assault on campus is still at large after, the victim claims, an Auraria police officer pointed a gun at him instead of chasing after the suspect.

Metro sophomore Sir Larry Cain was stabbed in the upper thigh around 11 a.m. on Oct. 4 in parking Lot E near the Administration Building after confronting an unidentified man who was searching through his car that was parked in the 1200 block of Fifth Street.

“The person was inside my car and I walked up on him,” Cain said. “He jumped out and I chased him down. I … tackled him to the ground.”

Cain said he told the man he wanted everything that was taken from his car. The suspect told Cain it was in his backpack. Cain said it was at this point that he told the parking lot attendant to notify the Auraria police.

During this time the suspect managed to escape his hold, Cain said.

“He broke loose again … and I chased him down again, and when I grabbed him the second time he turned around and stabbed me right in the leg, in the thigh,” he said.

Heather Coogan, chief of the Auraria police, said Sgt. Stahl was driving down Fifth Street when he saw the altercation between Cain and the suspect.

According to Coogan, Stahl backed up his car after driving past the lot and then pulled in. By the time he got out of his car Cain was chasing the suspect toward the Administration Building. Stahl called in the fight and descriptions of the two men and began to chase after them.

Coogan said Cain chased the suspect from the parking lot to the back corner of the Administration Building. It was here where Cain was stabbed. Stahl chased the two and stopped when he encountered Cain on the ground, Coogan said.

“When the officer came up he had his gun drawn at me, yelling at me to get down on the ground, and I was trying to explain to him that the suspect ran around the Administration Building, but he was constantly yelling at me, telling me to get down on the ground,” Cain said. “So I was face down on the ground, bleeding from my leg, and the parking people came up and explained to him that I wasn’t the guy responsible … so I was upset about that.”

Photo by Jenn LeBlanc • jkerriga@mscd.edu Sir Larry Cain was the victim of an aggravated assault on Oct. 7, near Lot E outside the Administration Building at Auraria.

Cain said the suspect was still running away when Stahl arrived, but that Stahl kept his gun pointed at him.

Cain, who is black, said he did not want to use the term racial profiling, but he said he felt that is what happened to him in regards to the treatment he received from the officer.

“They wasted, I’d say, two or three minutes,” Cain said. “The guy was still running and the cop had his gun drawn on me and I was pointing at him, saying, ‘He went that way, he went that way, go get him.’”

In response to Cain’s claim that the Auraria police wasted time, Coogan said that Officer Mayes, during that time, came down Seventh Street toward the Administration Building searching for the suspect.

Stahl, according to Coogan, approached Cain unaware of the situation. All he knew was that there was a fight between two individuals who took off running when he arrived, and he stopped at the first one he caught up to, Coogan said.

Coogan said Cain informed Stahl that he had been stabbed and was bleeding. Stahl then called for medical attention.

“Proper procedure states that the first thing you do is render medical aid if needed,” Coogan said.
An Auraria police officer was on the other side of the Administration Building searching for the suspect while Stahl was calling for an ambulance, Coogan said. Coogan also came out from the building to search for the suspect in case he ran in front of the Administration Building and then waited with Cain until the ambulance arrived.

According to Coogan, students were just getting out of class and the light rail had just dropped off a number of people.

“There were so many people everywhere it was just chaos,” Coogan said.

In addition, Coogan said, one of the witnesses on the scene was not very helpful in providing an immediate description of the suspect.

The suspect remains at large and the investigation is being conducted by the Denver Police Department.

The suspect is described as a white male, 5 feet 6 inches tall, with a medium build and a shaved head, according to John White, public affairs officer for the Denver Police Department.

If you have any information regarding this incident or see anyone matching this description, contact the Auraria police at 303-556-5000.

Cain was treated at Denver Health with non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect stole a CD case, wallet and basketball shoes from Cain’s car. All the items were recovered and are being held by the Denver Police as evidence for the investigation, Cain said.

The Auraria police will be holding a Safe Campus Night at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 19 in the Tivoli Multicultural Lounge. Students are encouraged to attend this event, which will cover issues such as lighting, walkways, the placement of emergency phones and a number of other safety issues.