Montclair Police report two men were victims of assault motivated by theft. No weapons were used, but both victims were man-handled.
On October 18, at 8:20 p.m., police were called to Bloomfield Avenue near So. Park for an assault in progress. They found a man standing at the bus shelter with his right eye swollen shut.
The victim, an 18 year-old-man from Newark, told police four black men, ages 18-21 approached him as he walked past Golden River Chinese Restaurant. One of the suspects asked him "what phone do you have? If it's a Verizon, I won't steal it, but if it's T-Moblie, I'm going to steal it."
The victim ignored the comment and continued on to the corner bus stop. Police say the group of four followed him, and began punching him and slamming his head into the plexiglass enclosure, then headed toward Midland Avenue. Nothing was taken from the victim. No arrests were made.
On Oct. 20 at 1 a.m., a patrol officer was flagged down by a Hispanic man in the Maple Plaza parking lot. The man told police he had been robbed by two other Hispanic men just minutes prior. The victim's friend, who witnessed the incident, translated for his friend and provided a description of the culprits.
The victim was walking West on Bloomfield after work, and one of the men came up to him and asked "what's up." Then he grabbed the victim around the neck with both hands, trying to choke him, before taking the bag. The suspects were around 20 years old; one 5'8" 180 pounds, the other 6'0" around 200 pounds.
Shortly after, a patrol officer found the bag of clothing on Midland Avenue off Bloomfield. The contents were intact, and returned to the victim.
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Comments (41)
Why would anyone choose T-Mobile over Verizon? He needs to go back to thief school.
YIPES!!!
Despite the obvious fun of the dumb miscreant's cell phone preference....
This is scary stuff.
At some point, I would like to hear from the police about their plans to secure the community.
Or is it that these crimes happened all the time (kids "jumping" kids is not new), but now we HEAR about them more-- thus creating a feeling of a crime wave.
Either way, I'd like to hear from an official.... One who posts here often..... Under the name...... Africk...... Maybe.......
We've got some terrible crooks in Montclair. What ever happened to robbing people that actually have money? A bag of clothes from some guy walking home after work and *nothing* from a kid waiting at the bus stop?
Seriously guys. Work harder at your craft.
If we spent more on education the perpetrators could have done a better job.
Mrs.Marta, Rob and Wally- your jokes are sad and inappropriate. I don't quite understand what motivates you to make light of a situation like this and feel no sympathy whatsoever for the victims.
It's pretty scary to hear about this stuff because I walked the same exact path last night to and from dinner at Gencarelli's. Luckily, I carry pepperspray attached to my keychain.
Your pepper spray would be more useful as seasoning at Gencarelli's than as a self defense tool against a group of 4 muggers.
Not everyone has a personality exactly like you, some of us tell jokes to cope. Funerals in my family are 30 minutes of sadness followed by 3 hours of laughter. I suppose sitting around sulking just seems like a waste of time.
Rob, this is my tired and worn funeral joke; I pull it out at every funeral of someone over 80:
My mother was lucky, she died peacefully in her sleep. (Wait for appropriate acknowledgement from audience, then...) Of course, the three passengers in her car (shrug), they were terrified.
Obviously, the 500,000 we plan to spend on a police parking lot trumps the need to expand the police forces ability to deter crime.
More 4% raises all around please.
Violet: Archie Comics called. They want Miss Grundy back.
If we spent more (or, more wisely) on education - they might *get* a better job.
"If we spent more (or, more wisely) on education - they might *get* a better job."
Oh, yes, obviously the muggers are a result of BOE budgets being too low. Obviously.
Violet: Any cellular service other than Verizon is shite, IMHO. If Mrs. Martta hadn't posted that comment...I was going to.
I truly feel sorry for people with no sense of humor.
"or, more wisely"
Get it?
It's interesting how most of these muggers are in groups of 4. They are all cowards. Reminds me of the Bernard Goetz story a years ago. Eventually someone will defend themself (and probably get locked up for it).
While police presence can deter crime in the immediate vicinity, reliance on "the system" to protect you is wishful thinking. Violent crime rates can't go to zero and at some point I want to walk outside prepared to defend myself and my family. I have no interest in harming anyone, but I know there are human animals out there who do not share in common decency and civil behavior.
One, two, or four thugs doesn't matter. A person should not have to submit to degrading, criminal behavior by others for the illusion of safety - the admonition to not resist. I'd rather have the legal means to deal with these threats and actions, but of course our state doesn't allow it.
"or, more wisely"
"Get it?"
Yes.
It's BS.
You really don't need much (or any) state-sponsored education to know slamming someone's head into a plexi-glass bus stop is wrong.
You can have the best police force in the world but that won't change a thing if you have "soft" judges on the bench who turn these miscreants back out onto the street with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. "It's his first offense," "He's so misunderstood," "He's had a rough childhood," blah, blah, blah. These things shouldn't matter. If you do a violent crime, you should serve the time, period.
We need to treat our criminals with respect. Terrence Dickson, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, was leaving a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage. Unfortunately for Dickson, the
automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get the garage door to open. Worse, he couldn't re-enter the house because the door
connecting the garage to the house locked when Dickson pulled it shut. Forced to sit for eight, count 'em, EIGHT days and survive on a case of
Pepsi and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner's insurance company claiming undue mental Anguish. Amazingly, the jury said the
insurance company must pay Dickson $500,000 for his anguish.
Remember these muggers have rights; we may incur liability by implying that they are not particularly smart.
Wally: Is this for real?
As I write too often, Newark spends almost 20k a year per pupil.
They still fail.
Money is not the answer.
The answer is a family structure.
THAT is impossible to legislate or police, so we are left with packs of animals (yes, animals... those who slam heads into plexiglass and choke others) roam the streets-- not unlike the deer.
The only difference for me is I do not advocate the wholesale slaughter of people as I do deer.
But the curfews, school interventions, and more money to social services that work- I can see.
So unless and until the family structure (the Black family in far too many cases) is repaired, there is NO real answer to this question.
..... Oh, I would add a cultural shift, where going to school and being a credit to your race- the way it was for Black folks up till the mid-70's- must work hand in hand with a family structure.
Till then..... we have what we have.....
No, MM
"better job"
As in, if these guys had jobs and homes and families to worry about they probably wouldn't be too interested in stealing some poor guys backpack. See, I was trying to be clever, but now I see that was a mistake.
If parents did a better job of raising and schools did a better job of educating, we wouldn't have people in their damned 20's out slamming heads into bus shelters.
What do you want to do? Hire 200 cops and complain about the expense? Tell the existing cops to quickly develop mad mind reading skilz?
T-mobile, along with AT&T phones, are easier to use as stolen phones. Just switch out the SIM card.
Let's ease up on CCW permit issuance criteria and allow for an armed populace. An armed society is a polite society.
I'd love to be able to carry concealed, totally would love it.
"As in, if these guys had jobs and homes and families to worry about they probably wouldn't be too interested in stealing some poor guys backpack."
You need a good job, home or family to know that slamming a guy's head into plexiglass is wrong?
You have an odd sense of morality there....
If guns aren't outlawed, then nobody will be an outlaw! Good times yeah!
Have you ever fired a round at another human being, MellonBrush? In anger or otherwise? As a matter of self-defense? Under orders? As a result of extensive military training.
In any case, it's much overrated as a sensation, honest.
But the good prof is right on the money above.
Violet, you just sounded hopeless. One of the reasons I still sort of like this site is to be reminded there are self-righteous, clueless clucks like you out there.
ROC
Are you pretending not to get my point just for the sake of arguing?
People with jobs and homes and families don't go around slamming heads into plexiglass. Do you think that's a coincidence?
"Are you pretending not to get my point just for the sake of arguing?"
no your point is specious.
You seem excuse this criminal behavior because society has failed to provide them with "good jobs, homes and families". Thus your typically liberal/progressive response to their immorality - SPEND MORE!
I'd say that society has not failed them, rather THEY have failed society by their criminal behavior.
After all, there are plenty of poor, crappy job, crappy home, people with less than perfect family situations in this world who seem to make it through the day WITHOUT smashing someone's head into plexiglass!
If only we had a "rec center" then we'd have no crime!
Of course there are people living in poverty that don't resort to crime (we'd be in DEEP trouble if they did), but the overwhelming majority of criminals are poor and poorly educated. The sky is also blue, does that prove your point somehow?
I'm saying that we need to intervene BEFORE heads meet plexiglass, not after.
"I'm saying that we need to intervene BEFORE heads meet plexiglass, not after."
That's what you fellows always say Rob. And then suddenly my taxes go up so that those fine young men can play foos-ball (and sell drugs) at the local "rec center".
Okay, permanent underclass and runaway police/prison spending it is.
Decision final.
Everyone is a utopian! That's the trouble!
(sorry, Rob. It's hard being 23, I keep forgetting....)
I'm saying that we need to intervene BEFORE heads meet plexiglass, not after.
I agree with Rob: we must arrest the criminals before they commit the crime! The only problem is, how do we identify them? Perhaps we could read their thoughts.
Ah, the Barista Bleeder. Be afraid! Be afraid!
Montclair borders towns with crushing poverty and does nothing. Good luck with that.
arrest != the only possible form of intervention.
Well, laser"lefty"georgieboymikeypal, do they remind each other in those towns with "crushing poverty" that they have in neighboring Montclair a town full of impossibly "rich" (it's all relative, I know), somewhat wimpish folks ripe for the occasional picking?
And if they realize this, do citizens of those towns sometimes act on that realization. Good luck with that! (I'm betting the answer is "yes" and I even give them a sort of credit for "doing something" about it.)
We are kind'a doing our civic duty when we make ourselves available for a mugging by the underclass. Please have the correct cellphone and fifty dollars with you at all times. Enjoy!
What should Montclair do, Lefty? And what do you do. (Or as Madeline Khan would say, tell us what it is that you do do.) Tell us, so we can follow you!
"If we spent more (or, more wisely) on education - they might *get* a better job"
Yea when they take victim studies in middle school and graduate to 9th grade predation studies.
"I carry pepperspray attached to my keychain"
A 357 would be more appropriate.
"a 3"soft" judges on the bench who turn these miscreants back out onto the street with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. "It's his first offense," "He's so misunderstood," "He's had a rough childhood," blah, blah, blah57 would be more appropriate"
You assume a faith in the Justice NonSystem that anything so direct as irrational decision making occurs. It's much more random and serendipitous than that.