Bloomfield Teens Lured Man To Robbery Using Snapchat: Police

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Bloomfield police charged three local teens with robbery after they allegedly accosted a 20-year-old man at knifepoint at Foley Field on June 18. The juveniles, all 16-years-old, had contacted their victim via Snapchat under the guise of buying a PlayStation 4 video game system from him, authorities announced Monday.

“The robbery and stabbing that took place [June 18] was a very complicated case, and very sensitive, as most cases involving juveniles are,” Director of Public Safety Samuel DeMaio said. “An arrest would not have been made unless sufficient evidence had been collected to confirm the three suspects had in fact conspired together to commit robbery.”

DeMaio credited Lt. George Ricci and the Youth Aid Division for investigating the case with “extreme professionalism.” He added that the BPD “will not be providing any further information about the victim of this crime or about the juveniles charged.”

According to the Bloomfield Police Department, the investigation began when a 16-year-old male was found lying down with a puncture wound near Foley Field. The youth allegedly told Bloomfield police officers he had been stabbed.

Detectives from the Youth Aid Division responded to Foley Field and Bloomfield’s Crime Scene Unit was summoned and processed the scene, authorities said.

Police were contacted later that day by a 20-year-old man with stab wounds to his hands who said he had been robbed at Foley Field. Through the course of their investigation, detectives from the Youth Aid Division uncovered evidence that the 16-year-old found near Foley Field “was one of the robbers, not a victim,” and had been stabbed by the victim in self-defense, authorities said.

The three juveniles were arrested and charged with robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, aggravated assault and multiple weapons offenses. All three were remanded to the Essex County Youth House.

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File Photo: Enzo DiCostanzo