Irvington Teen Arrested in Maplewood Robberies

A 16-year-old was arrested and charged with robbery and resisting arrest in two separate incidents that occurred in the same Maplewood neighborhood on a weekday afternoon, according to the Maplewood Police. 

In the first incident, a 20-year-old Maplewood resident walked into Maplewood Police Headquarters at around 3 p.m. on Aug. 9 to report three men had approached him in Maplecrest Park and demanded money. When he turned over $15, the alleged robbers left the park.  

As officers searched for the three, a second person, a 14-year-old Maplewood resident, reported being robbed on Elmwood Avenue near Brookwood Road, and gave a description that matched one of the suspects in the Maplecrest Park incident. 

Captain John Perna and other officers found two juveniles and one adult who fit the descriptions of the group on Clinton Avenue in Irvington. Perna and a police officer detained two; the third, a juvenile, ran from officers when they attempted to stop him. Police officers caught him in a nearby backyard. 

The teen, an Irvington resident, was identified by both victims. He is currently at the Essex County Youth House awaiting trial.  The man and the other juvenile could not be identified as being involved in the robberies, and were released.