Former Seton Hall men's basketball player Robert Mitchell was arrested on Tuesday March 16, by South Orange Police Department officers near South Orange Avenue and Poe Avenue in Newark, NJ.
He has been charged with kidnapping and robbery in the first degree, burglary in the third degree and weapon offenses in the second and third degree.
According to the Essex County Prosecutor's office, on March 15 Mitchell forced his way into a house located on Irvington Avenue and forced all eight of the occupants to hand over all personal possessions, including digital cameras, debit cards, credit cards and money at gunpoint.
Mitchell took the possessions, including $300 in cash, and fled the scene in a vehicle.
According to mutiple sourcres, SOPD officers searched for Mitchell on campus Tuesday afternoon.
Sophmore Chris Romanoski, a floormate of Mitchell's, said police officers went to Mitchell's dorm looking for him.
"I heard them knock on Melvyn's door, and after he came out they told him to get up against the wall and then they checked the room," Romanoski said.
Freshmen center Melvyn Oliver shared a room in Xavier Hall dormitory with Mitchell.
Mitchell's bail has been set at $650,000.
Assistant Athletic Director of Communications Matthew Sweeney had no comment on the matter.
Chief Chelel of SOPD also had no comment.
The incident occurred after Mitchell was released from the men's basketball team on Sunday evening, just hours before finding out if the team was going to receive an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
Mitchell was released due to comments made about then head coach Bobby Gonzalez.
He was quoted in the Bergen Record as saying, "It's hard to stay consistent as a player, when the coach isn't consistent."
Mitchell, who transferred from Duquesne University, joined the Seton Hall men's basketball team in 2007.
Before transferring, Mitchell was successful at Duquesne, receiving the Atlantic 10 conference's Rookie of the Year honor in the 2006-07 season.
This season at Seton Hall Mitchell saw noticeably less playing time than last season, which may have added to his hard feelings towards Gonzalez.
Nicholas Parco can be reached at nicholas.parco@student.shu.edu.
