Police: 4 Men Sought In Early-Morning Armed Robberies In Newark
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- The search is on for four men in a series of early-morning armed robberies in Newark, police said.
Four women were targeted in four separate incidents Monday, sources told CBS2's Christine Sloan. In each case, the victims told police they were approached by a car occupied by four men and then robbed at gunpoint.
One woman, who did not want to be identified, said she was robbed while behind the wheel of her dad's parked car.
"A strange man came to my car out of no where and was like 'Ma'am, give me whatever is in your bag and your phone,'" the woman said. "My phone was on my lap and I said oh my God he said, Ma'am, if you move I am going to shoot this whole car.'"
Sloan reports the woman gave the suspect $1,000 and her iPhone 6 Plus.
Chanel Lorenzo said she was waiting alone for the bus on 16th Avenue around 7 a.m. Monday when two men got out of a small car, walked up to her and pointed two silver semiautomatic guns at her head.
"One pointed a gun to my head on the side and one pointed the gun to my forehead and told me to give me all your money," Lorenzo told 1010 WINS' Rebecca Granet.
Lorenzo said the suspects -- who she described as a heavyset man with a green bandana over his face and another slimmer man -- took her cellphone, book bag and $150.
"It hurt because that's the last of what I have, but it didn't matter, you know, at least I could live years," Lorenzo said."Those things can be replaced even though I do struggle. My kids and my family is more important."
Lorenzo said she is grateful to be alive.
"I really did not think that they were going to let me live," she said. "There's no words to describe how frantic I was. ... It was horrible."
Witness Chris Rivera told CBS2's Janelle Burrell that the panicked screams of one of the alleged victims made him jump out of bed around 7:30 a.m. Monday.
"She was screaming very loud. She woke up the whole block," Rivera said.
Rivera said he saw the woman on the sidewalk outside of 700 N. Sixth St. in Newark. The woman said the suspects put a gun to her head and took her purse before hopping into a waiting car and speeding away from the scene.
"She was more scared than anything," Rivera said. "She was in shock."
A similar incident occurred on the 200 block of Second Avenue, where police took a statement from a witness Monday morning, Burrell reported.
Resident LaMush Taylor said it's normally calm in the neighborhood, so he was shocked to hear about the incidents.
"I walk through here every day," Taylor said. "For something to happen like that, it's like somebody is not from this area."
But many others say once summer begins, crime becomes more common.
"It's a dangerous little thing, especially a lot of people take the train here to go to work, one of them being my wife. It could happen to anybody," Rivera said.
The victims in all of the cases are being interviewed by police, sources said.
Police won't say yet if they believe all robberies are connected. Sloan reports that in all four incidents, the suspect points a gun, steals purses and cell phones then gets into a dark-colored car.
None of the women were hurt in the incidents, Burrell reported.
Police are looking for four men believed to be driving a dark-color Volkswagen Jetta with California plates, sources said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Newark Police Department's Crime Stoppers hotline at 877-NWK-TIPS (877-695-8477).