The Alternative Press

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – Police arrested a Pennsylvania teen after his victims identified him as one of a group of men who robbed them on Riggs Place near South Orange Avenue at approximately 8:46 p.m. on March 10.

The victims said a group of black males used physical force to take their cell phones, cash and food. Police said no weapons were involved. Damen Drakeford, 18, of Bushkill, Pa., was apprehended a short distance away. Police are still investigating.

Police are also investigating a March 13 robbery of a Delta gas station attendant at gunpoint. The employee told police the driver of a tan Nissan Maxima asked for $45 in gas but pulled out a handgun when the attendant asked for payment. The robbery occurred around 9:50 p.m.

The robber is described as a light-skinned black male, heavy set and unshaven. He was wearing a black bandana around his head and wore a black T-shirt with “police” written on the back.

In other police news:

• -- Robert Burns, Nyal Rivera and Brandon Burlew, all 20, were arrested on March 8 at 8:40 p.m. when officers observed them purchase liquor at the A&D Deli on Valley Street. The subjects, all Seton Hall students, were arrested while loading the alcohol into the trunk of their car.
   
• -- An 18-year-old South Orange resident, Sean Demor,  was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana on March 8 when an officer investigated suspicious activity around Holland Road and South Orange Avenue.
   
• -- A South Orange Middle School student reported that he was assaulted by three classmates on March 6. The incident is under investigation by school administrators.
   
• -- Three reports of attempted burglary are being investigated. A Cottage Street resident said someone attempted to enter his apartment by prying the front door lock on March 12. An Audley Place resident told police someone cut the screen to one rear window and used a brick to try to break a second window on March 10.  A Glenview Road resident heard a noise in the rear of her home and saw a man attempting to force open a window. He fled when he saw the resident. She reported the attempted burglary to police on March 6.
   

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.