STARKVILLE — A Georgia man arrested Thursday morning at Mississippi State University on a robbery charge now faces additional charges by city and campus police.
The MSU Police Department has dropped the robbery charge against 22-year-old Danny Solomon and instead charged him with kidnapping, sexual battery and impersonating a police officer. Solomon also is charged by the Starkville Police Department with burglary of a dwelling and kidnapping for a separate incident in the city earlier in the night.
According to MSU Police Chief Georgia Lindley, Solomon approached a student who was getting into a vehicle around 4 a.m. Thursday near McKee Hall on East Lee Boulevard. Solomon told the student he was a police officer, then got in the student”s car and told the student to drive away, but the student refused, Lindley said. Lindley would not disclose whether the student was male or female.
Meanwhile, a group of the student”s friends were in another vehicle and were waiting on the student to follow them to another location. When the second vehicle realized the student wasn”t following, they returned and spotted Solomon in their friend”s car, Lindley said. The friends were alarmed and called in MSU police, who responded to the scene and arrested Solomon without incident.
“It was very quick,” Lindley said of the response time. “The (police) cars were all in the area and were able to get there pretty quickly.”
Solomon was not wearing a police uniform and didn”t display a weapon during the incident, Lindley said.
Roughly two hours before the Mississippi State kidnapping attempt, Starkville police received a call from a citizen in the Cotton District who said a man had just walked into her home, Starkville police Lt. Maurice Johnson said. The man, who police later identified as Solomon, told the resident he was a military police officer.
Solomon and the resident “exchanged words,” then Solomon left and the resident called police, Johnson said. Starkville police canvassed the area, but couldn”t find the suspect.
When Mississippi State police contacted Starkville police about the incident outside McKee Hall on Thursday morning, Starkville police determined Solomon matched the description of the suspect in the Cotton District incident.
Solomon is now being charged by Starkville police with burglary of a dwelling and kidnapping. The kidnapping charge comes because the kidnapping statute applies when a victim feels like they are restrained or restricted from moving, Johnson said.
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