i hope potential buyers of the renovated condos on that corner know that crime is still an issue in that area

Robber nabbed, but other on the loose

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

A man who punched a victim in the face during an armed robbery Saturday was arrested shortly after the incident, Jersey City police reports said.

Omar Trinidad, 19, Randolph Avenue, was charged with robbery, resisting arrest and drug possession, police reports said.

The three victims said they were at Franklin Avenue and Mountain Road when two men walked up to them, demanded money, struck them and then ran off with the phones and the bags they were carrying, reports said.

Trinidad grabbed one of the victims, a 27-year-old student from Michigan, around the neck, turned him around and punched him in the face, reports said.

The second robber then ordered the student's 26-year-old brother and 30-year old roommate, both of Sherman Avenue, to the ground, pistol-whipping one of them, reports said.

After the victims said they only had loose change, the robbers stole two cell phones and bags the victims were carrying, which contained two pairs of jeans, a couple wallets, three pairs of shoes and two stuffed animals, reports said.

CHARLES HACK