bruningm@lopers.unk.edu
Tobechukwu Okafor, 19, is accused of two attempted robberies in October. He was arrested in Omaha on Nov. 19 and is listed as an inmate at the Buffalo County Jail.
A warrant for his arrest was made by the Buffalo County Court on Nov. 16. The court is charging Okafor for two counts of robbery.
An arrest affidavit which is a document that gives details about a case and why an arrest warrant is needed. According to the Buffalo County Court’s affidavit, the incident occurred on the UNK campus at 12:30 a.m. Oct. 29. A female and male student were walking on the sidewalk outside of Antelope Hall when Okafor approached them.
The victims were walking shoulder to shoulder. Okafor pushed himself in between the two students. He repeatedly asked them, “Hey whatcha’ got?” During this interaction, both students said they told Okafor they “did not want any trouble.”
Okafor grabbed the female’s lanyard and wallet attached to the lanyard. Her wallet contained her debit card and ID. Okafor took her stainless steel water bottle. He forcefully took the glasses off the male student’s face.
Other people were walking in the area and noticed the encounter. People started walking toward Okafor’s direction. When Okafor saw them approaching, he dropped the possessions and ran away.
The female student had known Okafor since August. The male student knew who Okafor was but had never spoken to him.
The Buffalo County Court affidavit says there was security camera footage from the night of the incident. The footage showed a male subject at the time and place of the incident. The person was also wearing clothing matching the two students’ descriptions. The affidavit says the male subject was confirmed to be Okafor.
According to a Kearney Police incident report, Okafor was reported for vandalism on Oct. 30. He approached another student off campus and smashed her iPhone. The case is open, but no charges have been filed in connection to this incident.
Okafor’s bail was posted and he was released from the Buffalo County Jail on Nov. 28
Todd Gottula, senior director of communications and marketing at UNK, confirmed Okafor is suspended from UNK and not allowed on campus. Okafor is a former UNK football player but has been removed from the team.
