The Alternative Press

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ—A 34-year-old Irvington resident was arrested at 9 a.m. on March 23 when officers responded to a report of a robbery in progress. Police said Faye Harris had a knife and was demanding money from the manager of the Village Smoke Shop in Village Plaza.

When she refused to drop the knife, officers used force to disarm her. No one was injured.

Detectives are investigating two other robberies in South Orange. In an incident March 25, a 22-year-old South Orange resident was attacked and robbed by a group of 10 teenagers. In the second incident, a pellet gun apparently was used in robbing five juveniles on Irvington Avenue on March 23.

The March 25 robbery occurred at 1 a.m. while the victim was walking on South Orange Avenue near Kimgman Road. The victim told police that during the assault, the teens removed his jacket, which contained his cell phone and debit card. He notified police later that morning.

The March 23 robbery occurred at 10:30 p.m. on Irvington Avenue near Riggs Place. Three robbers took cell phones a watch and a backpack from the victims. Police released the following descriptions: a dark-skinned black male, 5-foot-9, wearing a hooded Hollister sweatshirt, a navy and red Hollister knit cap, blue jeans, and black Polo brand boots; a black male with a medium complexion wearing black, square-frame glasses, a black baseball cap and black jacket; and a black male wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, dark jeans and sneakers. Police recovered some of the victims’ property as well as a pellet gun. The Essex County K-9 unit tracked the three men but lost the scent in the area of Manor Drive in Newark.

In other police news:

• A Pennsylvania resident reported he was pulled from his car while he was parked on Irvington Avenue waiting to pick up food at 9:30 p.m. on March 27. The carjacker, who had been in a stolen white Subaru, drove off in the victim’s vehicle, followed by the Subaru. Newark police pursued the two vehicles and apprehended two individuals. The South Orange Detective Bureau, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and Newark police are involved in the ongoing investigation.
   
• Police arrested Hayden Skeete, 49, of South Orange at 2:34 a.m. on March 25 after police responded to his residence and found he had assaulted another resident.
   
• Elijah Brown, 18, of East Orange, was arrested at 4:22 p.m. on March 24 when an officer on patrol noticed a fight at the Baird Community Center basketball courts. Police said that Brown refused to stop fighting and was taken into custody for disorderly conduct.

Source: http://southorange.org/Police/blotter.asp

Morgan Tornetta is participating in a hyperlocal journalism partnership between The Alternative Press and Seton Hall University's Department of Communication & The Arts designed to give students real-world experience