Man Robbed At Knifepoint In Coolidge Corner: Brookline Police

BROOKLINE, MA — Police have arrested a teen in connection with an attempted robbery and are still investigating another attempted robbery and a robbery at knife point that happened on within hours of each other Brookline last week. And in the meantime, police are cautioning residents to always be aware of their surroundings.

Three people reported that a man described as in his 20s or 30s, about 5’8”, wearing a gray sweatshirt and gray sweatpants came up to them between 8:30 p.m. Jan. 28 and 2 a.m. the following day and demanded money.

In the first case, a man was walking home along Kent Street and was just about to walk up his front porch steps on Bowker Street when a man that had been walking toward him grabbed his shoulder and demanded all of his money. Instead of giving him the money, the man jumped over his front porch to get away, and the would-be robber ran off he told police.

Police said they've arrested a teen in connection with this attempted robbery and charged him with juvenile delinquency, to wit: attempted robbery. Authorities are not releasing the teen's name, because he is underage.

About five hours later about 1:30 a.m. the next morning someone told police they were near the corner of Beacon and St. Paul streets when a man came up to them and asked for a lighter. According to police the man then asked him if he wanted to "go around the corner." Rather than do that, the man with the lighter took his lighter back and started to walk away.

"The suspect caught up to the victim, kept one hand in his sweatshirt pocket insinuating he had a weapon, and tried reaching into the victim’s pockets with his other hand while stating 'you know what this is,'" police said.

The man was able to back away and avoid losing anything valuable, police said, as the suspect ran off toward Coolidge Corner.

Some 20 minutes later, police said, it appears the same man went up to a third person, this time up the street near the corner of Beacon and Pleasant streets. He asked them for directions to a store. Together they started walking toward Harvard Street when the man elbowed the person into the entry of a restaurant, showed a knife and demanded the victim's money, police said.

He did so, and eventually the man ran off.

"We remind the Brookline community to be vigilant," Police said in a statement. "Be aware of your surroundings and if you notice any suspicious activity call the police non-emergency line at 617-730-2222."