Robbers who bound and gagged two East Tennessee State University basketball players at gunpoint in a Buccaneer Ridge apartment made off with credit and debit cards, a laptop and more than $1,300 in cash, most of which belonged to a third player, according to a report.
ETSU administrators were urging caution and safety on campus following the armed robbery. Security patrols on campus have increased at night, said university spokesman Joe Smith.
“We just want the campus to be especially alert at this time,” Smith said.
According to the ETSU Public Safety report on the assault and robbery, students John Ward and Adam Sollazzo told campus police they were in Buccaneer Ridge, Building O, Apt. 155, around 9:50 p.m. Tuesday when three black men entered the apartment brandishing two pistols.
Ward and Sollazzo were bound by their feet and hands, and they were gagged, according to the report.
The three robbers took property from Ward, Sollazzo and Sheldon Cooley, who is another ETSU basketball player.
Cooley apparently lived in Apt. 155 but was not present at the time of the robbery, according to the report.
Property taken from Ward included two debit cards, a credit card, a cell phone, a laptop and $150 in change.
Sollazzo only reported his cell phone stolen. He lived in another Buccaneer Ridge apartment.
Cooley reported two debit cards and $1,300 cash stolen.
Police said in the report the robbers entered the apartment by using Cooley’s ETSU ID card, which was in the mailbox outside the apartment. Cooley said he put the card there so his roommate would have access to the apartment due to locking himself out.
After the robbers left, Sollazzo and Ward untied themselves and hit panic buttons in the apartment. They were not injured.
Johnson City police used a dog to track the robbers through the woods on the north side of the building. The track was lost in the parking lot near Building G, apparently because the robbers got in a car, according to the report.
Public safety lifted three finger prints from the balcony door of the apartment. The rope and tape used to bind Ward and Sollazzo were collected as evidence.
Smith said the university takes reports of any kind of crime seriously and moved aggressively to alert the campus community of the robbery via emails and text messages around 11 p.m. Tuesday.
ETSU basketball coach Murry Bartow said the victims were doing good considering they had just been robbed at gunpoint. He said unless something changed his mind Wednesday, the students would play in Thursday’s game.
“Well, obviously you know anytime something like this happens on your campus you’re concerned, whether it’s a student athlete or not,” he said.
Asked about the circumstances of the case, Bartow had no comment.
mtnman writes:
February 22, 2012
3:25 PM
I hope those three wonderful athletes find the guys that put them through this horrible horrible thing, and give them a teaste of their own medicine! Imagine having a gun pointed at you, then tied up, and helpless. So terrifying.
Of.A.Revolution writes:
February 22, 2012
4:38 PM
One thing that doesn't make sense to me is that it states that the 2 guys were in the apartment and the 3 robbers entered with the ID left in the mailbox. The ID was left so that the roommate (the one who was in the apt, Ward) could enter since he had locked himself out. He wouldn't have used the ID, let himself and his friend in, and then put the ID back in the mailbox for the robbers to retrieve and use to barge in. Either misinformation...or something else...
TennSweetie writes:
February 22, 2012
5:10 PM
I agree with A.Revolution, something about that ID in the mailbox seems a little bit strange. Also, how many college kids have $1300 cash in their dorms?? I hate to raise suspicions, but I am a college student as well and I have never had that much money just laying around...I hope these guys are telling the whole story, and if they are I hope the robbers get caught! It's a scary thought to think that this could happen here!
LordVoldemort writes:
February 22, 2012
6:38 PM
It just doesn't add up.
volman1968 writes:
February 22, 2012
6:49 PM
This whole thing stinks.$1300 by a college kid in the dorm. Just wait till all the facts are gathered. Sounds like a setup to me.
hb4723 writes:
February 22, 2012
9:48 PM
To whoever would think that this story is fishy you all are messed up. Ward, Sollazzo, and Cooley are all fantastic people and people who don't know them questioning their character on an internet board is tragic. Sollazzo is going into his last two games at ETSU and is looking at extending his season, whereas Ward is coming off reconstructive ankle surgery and it's crazy to think he would want to be "bound" by his ankle that he got the cast removed earlier that day, and Cooley who is also at the point of helping his team get into the post season. Knowing these boys I know that the last thing any of them want to have on their mind is that they could've been shot for their possessions. They're human beings, and fantastic people at that. They may be Division I athletes but I can assure all of you that they weren't setting this up to happen to themselves. So please be nicer with your comments about these boys. Some of the people reading this article are close friends of these guys and are truly just concerned for them right now. Thanks.
Taba3455 writes:
February 22, 2012
11:57 PM
It sounds like Mr. Ward and Mr. Sollazzo were in on this deal. Bound by feet and hands, ID in the mail box? Doesn't add up. I would hope that the police investigate further to get to the bottom of this. I'm sure we haven't heard the entire turth yet...
Remove Money from Politics writes:
February 23, 2012
2:31 AM
I thought guns were banned on college campuses? How did the robbers manage to bring the guns in?
How ridiculous that law abiding citizens cannot defend themselves because they're going to college. I certainly would not feel safe living there without being able to legally have a firearm for defense.
ETSUAlumnus writes:
February 23, 2012
6:39 AM
These 3 are all fine young men-I'm glad they're okay.
rlo writes:
February 23, 2012
7:17 AM
hb4723.. the funny thing about your post is that you actually think the Bucs have a shot at the postseason. By postseason, you must mean the Asun "postseason" because we all know they won't be in the NCAA.
ETSUAlumnus writes:
February 23, 2012
8:39 AM
Some of your attempts at humor are callous, ignorant, and irresponsible.
justathought writes:
February 23, 2012
9:09 AM
I'm with you ETSUAlumnus. Enough said.
hb4723 writes:
February 23, 2012
1:29 PM
To rlo: They very much are still in the Atlantic-Sun postseason, and I know for a fact that this group of men has it in them to potentially get an NCAA bid. You don't know the half of what these athletes endure and I'm fairly certain that putting you out there on the court you couldn't accomplish half of what these boys do.
To Djackson: You need to bite your tongue. Saying things like that are hurtful. Especially when the ETSU community just lost a student and friend due to an accident related to Bath Salts. Also, I think that you should stop judging these boys solely because they're D1 athletes.
And to Taba3455: Think about what you said a little more logically shall you? Why would Ward and Sollazzo set themselves up to have all of their belongings stolen? Especially belongings such as Laptops that are most definitely needed for college and cell phones that are our lifelines in todays society.
So once again, I ask you all to think about the things that you are posting about J.C. Ward and Adam Sollazzo. They are friends, and family to some people reading this and it is a stressful enough situation as is without people making unnecessary comments about young men that none of you know personally.
MC4563 writes:
February 23, 2012
4:17 PM
To those of you who have come here to judge these guys, why? Do you know them? Do you have any reason to think they would make something this awful up? I didn't think so. Well I do know them, and I know that they are fantastic boys who really are shaken up by this. So your negative comments should be kept to yourself until you have actual reason to say hurtful things.
And to you, rlo, really? Why are you even here? If you are that hateful about ETSU basketball in general, why did you waste your time to read this article? And then to make fun of someone trying to defend the guys' good names? That was just pointless.
Everyone should really think about the fact that Adam, JC, and Sheldon are all just normal young adults who had something terrifying happen to them. It's sad that they're getting jumped on because they're athletes. I'm just glad they have friends who are willing to stick up for them... ya know, since none of them can answer your bashing because their laptops and phones were taken.
Djackson writes:
February 23, 2012
8:32 PM
Told you, it was that quarter pound of pot!!! There you go:
ETSUAlumnus writes:
February 23, 2012
8:39 AM
Some of your attempts at humor are callous, ignorant, and irresponsible.
Hee hee ha ahha hee he
justathought writes:
February 23, 2012
9:09 AM
I'm with you ETSUAlumnus. Enough said.
Hee hee ha haha hhee hee haha