An assault and robbery recently occurred at a hotel in Newark, New Jersey when a Harrison man went to meet a supposed female escort and was subsequently ambushed by a group of assailants.
According to Sergeant Ronald Glover of the Newark Police Department, the victim, whose identity has not been disclosed, went to the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark during the early morning hours of Wednesday, January 15th after arranging to meet an escort via the website Backpage.com. When the victim arrived at approximately 5 a.m., he was assaulted and robbed by multiple men who entered the hotel room, located on the 12th floor of the building. The victim, who said that one of the perpetrators was posing as a police officer, was taken to University Hospital following the incident.
Per police reports, the items stolen included the man’s phone, his wallet, and the keys to his car. Both the phone and the vehicle were subsequently recovered on Avon Avenue in the South Ward of Newark. Although the victim sustained a cerebral hemorrhage, he is likely to recover, according to Newark Police.
The investigation is ongoing and police are requesting that any and all information regarding the incident be forwarded to the Newark Police Department’s tip phone line at 877-NWK-Tips or 877-695-8477. The line operates on a 24-hour basis and all calls are anonymous.
If one or more individuals is identified in connection with this crime, they will likely face charges for robbery as well as assault. Robbery offenses are governed under N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1, which provides:
Robbery is a crime of the second degree, except that it is a crime of the first degree if in the course of committing the theft the actor:
- Attempts to kill anyone; or
- Purposely inflicts or attempts to inflict serious bodily injury; or
- Is armed with, or uses, or threatens the immediate use of a deadly weapon.
Crimes of the first and second degrees are punishable by terms of incarceration ranging from 10 to 20 years and 5 to 10 years in New Jersey State Prison, respectively. In this case, it will be at the court’s discretion to determine whether the victim sustained “serious bodily injury,” which will further determine the degree of the robbery charges.
N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1 delineates what, in fact, constitutes “serious bodily injury.” However, regardless of the court’s determination as to whether or not this particular victim sustained “serious bodily injury,” individuals convicted of both first and second degree robbery offenses are subject to significant penalties.
For more information pertaining to this case, access the following article: Man assaulted, robbed after trying to meet ‘female escort’ at Robert Treat Hotel
