1 suspect charged, the other still at large

One suspect stands officially charged in connection with a reported armed robbery early Sunday outside an on-campus fraternity house, while his alleged accomplice remained at large as of this morning (Feb. 25).

A public defender entered not guilty pleas on Daniel Chavez's behalf during his arraignment Feb. 24 in Yolo County Superior Court in Woodland. He faces three gun charges and a charge of auto theft — but not armed robbery. Campus police had said Chavez and his male accomplice approached four men, produced a gun and robbed them.

Police said the incident took place around 2:15 a.m. last Sunday, after the two suspects had been asked to leave a party at the Nu Alpha Kappa fraternity. It is on Parkway Circle, at the northwest corner of La Rue and Orchard roads, kitty-corner from the Activities and Recreation Center.

After the robbery, police said, the suspects stole a car — using a key taken from a table inside the NAK house. The getaway car never made it off Parkway Circle, hitting a wooden fence at the La Rue Child Development Center.

Police captured Chavez, but the other man got away on foot. Officers described him as Hispanic, in his mid-20s, about 5-foot-8 with a medium build, and with “678” tattooed on his neck, and said he was wearing dark pants and a white, short-sleeve shirt with vertical red stripes.

Police recovered a gun that the suspects allegedly tossed over the fence at the daycare center. But police believe there may have been a second gun — which is why officers say the man who is still at large should be considered armed and dangerous.

Besides auto theft, Chavez is charged with carrying a loaded, stolen gun; carrying a concealed, stolen gun in a car; and carrying a loaded, concealable gun in a car, without being the gun's registered owner. Every charge comes with an enhancement, for being on bail at the time of the alleged offenses.

Chavez is being held in the Yolo County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bail. He is due back in court for a preliminary hearing at 10 a.m. March 10.

Earlier coverage.

A new cargo of coffee

For law students, the arson that destroyed the Cargo Coffee hut outside King Hall could not have come at a worse time: right at the start of the spring semester’s finals week last April. Then came fall semester’s finals, and still no coffee hut.

The coffee drought is about to end, with a tentative opening date of Tuesday, March 1, for the new Cargo Coffee. Like the structure that burned down, the new one is a portable building, about the same size as before (160 square feet), and it is in the same place as before, at the northwest corner of King Hall, convenient for the law school as well as Mrak Hall.

A groundskeeper called in the fire just before 6 a.m. April 30, before the employees had arrived for the day. Campus and city of Davis fire units arrived within minutes, finding the wood structure engulfed in flames. There were no injuries.

Investigators have no leads to solving the arson, Detective Sgt. Paul Henoch of the campus Police Department said this week. He said the department has yet to receive a federal analysis of evidence from the fire. The department sent the items to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives lab in Sacramento.

Christian and Diana Tribble owned and operated the Cargo Coffee hut that burned down, and they are the ones replacing it. The Tribbles have a total of three coffee huts at UC Davis, under a subcontract with Sodexo, which runs all of the campus's food operations, except the ASUCD Coffee House.

Besides the Cargo Coffee at King Hall, the others are between Olson and Sproul halls, and between Engineering III and Academic Surge.

Special weeks times 3

UC Davis has its traditional culture weeks every spring, but the campus also observes other special weeks throughout the year — and next week happens to bring three of them. All events are free and open to the public.

• Intersex Awareness Week — Events include “Intersex 101,” 3-4 p.m. Feb. 28, Fielder Room, Memorial Union; keynote address by Hida Viloria, human rights spokesperson for the Organisation Intersex International, 7 p.m. March 2, MU II, Memorial Union; and “Body Image Beyond Gender” (in collaboration with Celebrate Your Body Week), noon-1 p.m., Fielder Room. Complete program.

• Celebrate Your Body Week — Dedicated to raising awareness of the dangers of eating disorders and body image issues. Presented by the UC Davis Association of Body Image and Disordered Eating, or ABIDE. Events include “How to Help a Loved One With an Eating Disorder,” 7-8 p.m. March 1, Meeting Room 1, Activities and Recreation Center; “Rock What Your Momma Gave Ya: A Call to Love Your Body,” 5:10-6 p.m. March 2, Conference Room 1, Student Health & Wellness Center; and “Fast Fuel for a Healthy Self,” about how to use seasonal produce, bulk foods and simple cooking techniques to make delicious, inexpensive food that is fast and healthy, 4-5:30 p.m. March 3, Conference Room 2, Student Health & Wellness Center. Complete program (click on the title image to see the flier).

• Principles of Community Week — With events scheduled on the Davis and Sacramento campuses. See separate story.