Used Gun Threat To Rob Teens In Glendale
Two Brooklyn youths picked up by police for allegedly robbing a teenager in Glendale last Wednesday, Jan. 15, have been linked to an attempted holdup of another teenager in the neighborhood days earlier, police reported.
Law enforcement sources identified the duo as 17-year-old Robert White and 19-year-old Christopher Tomlinson, both residents of Park Place in Crown Heights.
Police said White and Tomlinson allegedly tried to take a cell phone from a 14-year-old male near the intersection of 84th Street and Cooper Avenue at around 3:50 p.m. last Wednesday.
According to information provided by the Queens District Attorney’s office, the pair approached the victim from behind and Tomlinson allegedly made a verbal demand. Seconds later, White reportedly went through the victim’s pockets.
In doing so, authorities said, the victim began to resist and clutched his cell phone. It is alleged that White shoved the teenager, then claimed to have a gun and threatened to shoot him.
Reportedly, the victim handed over his phone, but the pair continued to demand other property he might have.
Police said the caper was interrupted when an unknown individual approached them, prompting the suspects to throw the phone back at the victim and flee the scene on foot.
Members of the 104th Precinct responded to the scene. The victim was not injured.
Following a canvass of the surrounding area, police said, White and Tomlinson were tracked down shortly after the caper and were initially charged with first-degree armed robbery and endangering the welfare of a child.
The pair would later be slapped with charges of attempted robbery and child endangerment in connection with a failed holdup of two teenage males at 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 10 along 83rd Street between Cooper and Doran avenues, authorities stated.
According to the criminal complaint provided by the Queens District Attorney’s office, White and Tomlinson approached the pair on the street. Tomlinson reportedly claimed to have a gun and demanded their property.
After Tomlinson allegedly issued the threat, police noted, White pointed at the complaintants, then walked to the sidewalk, held on to his waistband and began to raise his shirt.
The two suspects fled from the scene after an unknown individual in a vehicle drove up to the location, and the two would-be victims approached the car. The incident was later reported to the 104th Precinct.
As part of its investigation, prosecutors stated, the 104th Precinct Detective Squad obtained footage from a nearby security camera which showed White and Tomlinson separately in the vicinity of the crime scene on the date and time it took place.
During questioning, it was noted, White allegedly told detectives he pretended to have a gun during the robbery.
Both White and Tomlinson were arraigned on both cases in Queens Criminal Court last Thursday, Jan. 16, before Judge Stephanie Zaro, who ordered each of them held on $30,000 bail, according to court records. They are scheduled to return to court on Feb. 5.
