NJ Man Lied About Newark Robbery, Stumbled Into Liquor Store To Call Cops: Police

NEWARK, NJ — A Union County resident recently lied to police about being robbed at gunpoint in Newark, authorities say.

Darryl Armstrong, 48, of Elizabeth, falsely reported to police that he was robbed at gunpoint on Aug. 22 near Springfield Avenue and South 15th Street, according to the Newark Department of Public Safety.

Armstrong told detectives that three men wearing all black clothes exited a black, four-door vehicle, pointed a weapon at him, threw him to the ground and took his cellphone, authorities said.

Detectives investigating the case later reviewed surveillance video footage that showed Armstrong wasn’t robbed, police said.

The footage shows Armstrong standing on the sidewalk on Springfield Avenue at 2:29 p.m. He then runs into the middle of the street and grabs the door handle of a SUV, loses his grip and falls face-first onto the ground. Moments later, Armstrong was seen “stumbling” into a nearby liquor store where he called police for assistance, authorities said.

Armstrong was transported to University Hospital, where he again told detectives that he was robbed at gunpoint.

Armstrong was arrested and charged with false swearing, police said.

The allegation isn’t the first time that police have accused someone of falsely reporting a robbery in Newark this year. In May, a Belleville resident was arrested and charged with filing a false robbery complaint after he told officers that two men stole cash and his cell phone while he was waiting for the bus.

• See Related: Belleville Man Lied About Being Robbed In Newark, Police Say

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