Teenager held without bail in armed robbery near Boston University

By Matt Rocheleau, Globe Correspondent

A Roxbury teenager was ordered held without bail today after his arraignment in one of the recent armed robberies near Boston University.

Taquari Milton, 17, had a plea of not guilty entered on his behalf in Brookline District Court on two counts of armed robbery from an incident on Oct. 5 – the third in a string of four armed robberies reported in Brookline, near the BU campus, between Sept. 25 and Oct. 9. A judge slated a dangerousness hearing for Milton for Thursday.

The victims in all the robberies have been current or recently graduated students of the university, authorities have said. The robberies put the university community on edge, altering routines and prompting calls for students to be vigilant and cautious, the Globe reported last week.

Two juveniles have also been arrested in connection with the robberies. They are scheduled to appear in court Thursday afternoon, prosecutors said at Milton’s arraignment.

When the judge ordered that Milton be held without bail, some in the courtroom let out gasps.

After the arraignment, about a dozen people, some of whom were crying, huddled in the lobby consoling one another. They then later conferred outside the courthouse with Milton’s lawyer.

The defense attorney, Robert L. Sheketoff, declined to comment on the case as did the people who spoke to him.

Milton was arrested Friday. One of the juveniles turned himself in the same day; the other turned himself in Thursday, a day after police released a video of possible suspects in connection with the string of robberies.