KEARNY –
A 17-year-old Kearny youth was arrested and charged with armed robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose after he allegedly held up a man he had arranged to meet to buy high-end sneakers.
Police gave the following account of the incident that led to the arrest:
At around 11 a.m., Jan. 15, police said they got a 9-1-1 call of an armed robbery on Davis Ave. near Wilson Ave. The first two officers on scene, Cesar Negron and Jose Perez- Fonseca, said they met with the victim, a 29-year-old Paterson man, who told them he had arranged, online, to meet the suspect to sell him a pair of high-end sneakers. When the two met, the 17-year-old allegedly pulled a handgun — later determined to be a pellet gun — on the seller and demanded the sneakers.
After the victim handed over the sneakers, the suspect fled north on Davis Ave.
Shortly thereafter, several other units arrived on the scene, and police said they were able to determine the suspect lived in the area. After getting a physical description of the suspect, units searched the area and honed in on an apartment building on Davis Ave. where they’d noticed someone on the rooftop.
Sgts. Anthony Limite, Rich Poplaski and Paul Bershefski, with Officers T.J. Hernandez and Jack Grimm all went to the building’s roof where they found the 17-year-old, police said.
Police took the suspect into custody, he was reportedly identified by the victim and was later remanded to the Juvenile Detention Center in Union County.
Meanwhile, both Kearny High and Franklin schools were locked down while the incident unfolded.
Deputy Chief George King and Lt. Tim Wagner supervised the operation.
Units from the C.O.P. were deployed to the two schools during the lockout. While the schools were on lockdown, rumors that a bank had been robbed were rampant on social media. However, there was no bank involved whatsoever in the incident.
The stolen sneakers were recovered.
