UPDATED: March 8, 2022 at 4:41 p.m.

Juli Boeheim was robbed in a Destiny USA mall parking lot on the afternoon of March 1, according to NewsChannel 9 and syracuse.com. There were no injuries reported. The suspect was arrested later that day and charged, according to police releases.

A police information release from March 2 stated that a 55-year-old woman had her purse stolen around 2 p.m. near the mall’s east entrance. Juli, the wife of longtime Syracuse men’s basketball head coach Jim Boeheim, is 55 years old. 

Boeheim confirmed the events on a radio show with Brent Axe, and said Juli is “definitely shook up.”

The initial Syracuse Police release alleged that the suspect began a conversation with the victim, who was sitting in her car, before displaying what appeared to be a handgun and reaching into the car to take the victim’s purse and phone. A later release stated that it was an airsoft gun, not a handgun. The suspect then proceeded to a nearby get-away vehicle with three other young people and fled the scene, the report said.

A week later, police released an update stating they made an arrest on the same day as the robbery. SPD said a 12 year old was identified as the suspect. The suspect and the three others left in what was later determined to be a stolen vehicle, according to the updated report. 

SPD said it found the car on the east side of Syracuse later on the day of the robbery. The suspect has been charged with robbery in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree and grand larceny in the fourth degree, according to an SPD release.

The police reports don’t name the victim, and SPD spokesperson Lt. Matthew Malinowski said that “we don’t release victim names early on in investigation(s).” NewsChannel 9 and syracuse.com both cited multiple law enforcement sources when reporting that Juli was the woman robbed.

Officers arrived on the scene at 2:08 p.m. after receiving a robbery call, the report said. The investigation is active and ongoing, and SPD asks that anyone with information call at 315-442-5222.

“This isn’t television,” Boeheim said a day after the incident. “It’s not movies, it’s real life, and somebody puts a gun in your face. She’s handling it well, better than I probably would, or most people I think, but this is not easy. She’s a little shook but I think she’s doing much better than could be expected.”

The Jim and Juli Boeheim Foundation has donated money to charities in upstate New York, and is primarily run by Juli. Much of the foundation’s philanthropy work involves kids.

“Her main thought was, ‘Let’s help this kid.’ That’s what we do — she does — with our foundation. Try to help these kids,” Boeheim said. “That was the first thing she said: ‘I feel like I want to get this kid and help this kid.’ That’s the way she thinks, that’s the way she is.” 

This post has been updated with additional reporting.

Published on March 1, 2022 at 7:33 pm

Contact Roshan: rferna04@syr.edu | @Roshan_f16