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Predators! 8-on-1 mugging caught on video
By JASON DEL REY
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
In a frightening depiction of the current state of youth violence, the Jersey City Police Department released footage yesterday of last week's mugging of a Newark Avenue man by a mob of eight teen-aged thugs.
Cops had set up surveillance of Newark Avenue between Kennedy Boulevard and Tonnelle Avenue about 7 p.m. Thursday in response to a string of robberies by juveniles.
"We had eight robberies in that area in 28 days," said Capt. Kenneth Teschlog, commander of the Street Crime Unit. "Many of the robberies were committed by juveniles wearing dark clothes and dark hoodies."
The video, displayed yesterday for a group of television news channels and The Jersey Journal, was captured by a closed-circuit security camera, Teschlog said.
In the video, the teens, all wearing dark sweatshirts with hoods pulled over their heads, follow the unsuspecting 26-year-old victim as he walks on Newark Avenue toward Tonnelle Avenue. When the man crosses the street, they follow, halting traffic in the process.
Then, as the man turns onto Tonnelle, one boy rolls up his sleeves and signals to the others, and they all close in on the victim, punching him and then shoving him against a wall.
The cops on surveillance then swarm in, sending the teens scattering in all directions. The video ends with a plainclothes cop tackling one of the fleeing teens.
"Cops are out there 24-7 and people that are going to prey. will never know when six or eight cops are watching what they're doing," Teschlog said. "That's the message."
Teschlog said investigators are still interviewing victims of past robberies in the area to determine if they are linked.
© 2006 The Jersey Journal
© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
November 5, 2005
POLICE BEAT- Camera's images get 2 suspects off streets
Two Jersey City teens were nabbed early yesterday on robbery charges after a closed-circuit video camera caught them fleeing the scene of a mugging, according to a police report.
Police officers responded at 12:09 a.m. to a report of a robbery in progress at the corner of Vroom Street and Bergen Avenue, reports said.
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