UST Public Safety shares information from Hamline University Safety and Security Office
The St. Thomas Department of Public Safety shares the following information received from Hamline University.
A man has been prohibited from the Hamline University campus after behaving suspiciously there. At approximately 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22, Peter Laverne Carter approached Hamline staff members in the Bush Student Center, behaving suspiciously, asking for prayer and speaking about religious topics. He stated he lived in the "Hewitt House," a local crisis residence. He then left the area. He returned at approximately 5:30 p.m., asking for money for a hotel room for his wife and son. It later was verified that Carter does not live at Hewitt House.
Carter, 43, is African American, 5 feet, 8 inches tall and 140 pounds. He has short, cropped black hair, is hunched over at the shoulders and small in stature. He has a 1- to 2-inch scar on the back of his right hand.
Carter has numerous felony convictions for property crimes as well as other violent crimes. He currently is awaiting sentence on a theft-by-swindle case. He has a chemical dependency as well as a possible mental-health illness. Do not approach him if you see him; please call Public Safety.
Carter also has had a previous negative contact at St. Thomas. On April 15 he came to the St. Paul campus and approached staff members in Murray-Herrick Campus Center, claiming he needed assistance because he had been forced out of his construction job due to his religious beliefs. He was able to convince staff members to give him money and assist him with getting a hotel room for the night. He is known for approaching religious or church settings claiming to need assistance and asking for money.
