Police: Officers Thwart Armed Robbery of Senior Citizen

Newark police arrested a city youth who appeared to be preparing to rob an elderly man Wednesday morning, the department said in a statement.

Officers on patrol at South Orange Avenue and 12th Street around 10 am reportedly saw the 17-year-old suspect emerge from a double-parked car, pull his hood over his head and extract a gun from the waistband of his pants as he approached the man, who was washing his own car. When police activated their lights, the youth jumped back into the car and drove off.

Officers chased the vehicle to the nearby New Community Corp. complex, where the youth and three passengers bailed out. Police arrested the original suspect and another occupant of the car, a 16-year-old city resident. Police also recovered a .38 caliber revolver that had been dropped during the foot chase. 

The 17-year-old was charged with eluding police, unlawful possession of a weapon and motor-vehicle violations. The 16-year-old was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon.

"Public safety is a shared responsibility and we are in desperate need of greater parental supervision, community involvement and intervention, spiritual guidance and mentoring in order to better protect these children from themselves," said Samuel DeMaio, director of the Newark Police Department.