Groups of teenagers robbed two juveniles in separate crimes last Friday, Sept. 26, during which one of the suspects flashed a folding knife and another punched a victim in the face, knocking him off his bike, police said.
In the first case, which occurred at about 7 p.m., seven teen boys who identified themselves as "the MHS Class of 2012" jumped three boys on Bruce Road and took one teen's iPod, according to police. The victims then followed a few of the robbers from Bruce Road northwest across Valley Road, heading to Brookfield Road and then to Oakcroft Avenue, where the victims caught up to the robbers, authorities said.
In response, some of the perpetrators threatened to get violent and again surrounded the victims, and one of the robbers flipped open a knife, police indicated.
The victims, two 16-year-olds and one 17-year-old, ran away, and no one was injured. Police did not identify anyone involved since they were all juveniles.
In a second strong-arm robbery that same night at 8:50 p.m., a 17-year-old boy riding his bike on North Fullerton Avenue was approached by a group of teens near Watchung Elementary School. One of the suspects punched the boy in the face and another hit him while he was down, and the group demanded his money, police said.
When the victim yelled for help, the group ran away, and shortly thereafter investigators stopped five winded boys near the corner of Chestnut and Forest streets, police said.
The victim identified one of the boys in the group as one of his attackers, and all five of them were arrested and charged with robbery by force, then sent to the Essex County Juvenile Detention Center in Newark, according to police.
As of Monday, detectives had not yet determined whether the two robberies had been committed by the same group of teens, said Montclair Police Lt. James Carlucci. The cases remain under investigation by the Juvenile Aid Bureau.
For more details, check out this Thursday’s edition of The Montclair Times.
