Sending a child off to college is supposed to be one of life’s milestones.
But it turned into a nightmare for one family when they dropped their son off.
And a Florida family withdrew their son from a California college after this scary situation.
Florida family robbed while moving son into Oakland, California college
Rhomel Crossman of Broward County, Florida, and his family traveled cross country to move into his dorm at Lincoln University in Oakland, California for the fall semester.
A former standout for Coconut Creek High School, he was set to join the university’s football team as a defensive tackle.
Crossman and his family flew into Oakland and rented a Nissan Rogue to move him into his dorm room at Lincoln University.
They left their rental car parked a block away from the university while they got something to eat after registering with the university.
Thieves broke into the car and stole five suitcases in broad daylight after they were only gone for 15 minutes.
“Now, I start feeling my heart like it’s pounding in the morning instead of feeling rested,” Crossman’s aunt, Coren Leslie-Green, said.
Crossman’s mother, Nerissa Murray Watson, told KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco that the family was stunned.
“In Oakland, California, you just gotta be careful,” Watson said. “Everything is totally gone.”
Thieves made off with a sleep apnea machine and five suitcases out of the Rogue.
“three thousand dollars in a bag my husband put under the seat with three passports, social security cards, and my son’s high school diploma and birth certificate,” Watson said.
Professional gangs are targeting vehicles for robbery in Oakland using tools to break into them quickly and quietly.
A masked gang of thieves was seen speeding off in an unmarked vehicle according to witnesses.
The family decides against attending college after the robbery
Florida has a fifty-year low in crime under the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis.
Oakland is in the midst of a major crime wave after voters elected Soros-backed Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, who is now facing a recall attempt.
Vehicle break-ins are common in Oakland but came as a shock to Watson.
“I didn’t know that these things happen in America so it’s really strange to me,” Watson said. “To me, it’s lawless because we even called the police station three times and they said they can’t come.”
Watson said that the police wanted her to come to the station to file a report.
That experience was enough for the family to decide to bring their son home from California.
“I have to bring my son to Florida because it’s not safe here,” Watson told KTVU.
Crossman was disappointed that his journey to playing college football would take another path.
“I was actually excited because I was starting a new chapter in my life, and I was excited because I love playing football,” Crossman told Fox News.
Lincoln University President Dr. Mikhail Brodsky told Fox News in a statement that things could always be worse for the family.
“The information about a broken student’s car is unpleasant but not unexpected. Such things happen in Oakland, San Francisco, Bay Area, California, and the U.S. It’s not the worst thing, there are many worse ones,” Brodsky wrote.
Oakland is devolving into a third world as crime and lawlessness run rampant.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
