From helpless victims to immigrants flush with cash, city robbers finding plenty of prey
Published: Wednesday, August 19, 2009




By JOE D’AQUILA


TRENTON — A 56-year-old deaf, mute and partially blind woman was beaten and robbed this week while walking home from Conti’s Bar on South Clinton Avenue.

Police said the woman, whose identity was withheld, was attacked from behind at about 11 p.m. Sunday by a white male wearing a black bandana and a black T-shirt with white lettering. The suspect, police said, punched the physically challenged woman in the back, knocked her to the ground, then stole her purse containing $28.50.

The shocking crime was one of many recent armed robberies in the city.

Statistics released yesterday show that there have been 32 reported robberies midway through August, or an average of about two per day. About half of the crimes took place at gunpoint, with the other half carried out by those using knives, brute force or other means.

Taking advantage of weaker prey seems to be a recurring theme in Trenton’s concrete jungle, as also evidenced by a Monday night home invasion robbery, where an 86-year-old man was the target.

Police said the victim was renting a room in a boarding house type of arrangement on Bellevue Avenue, and he was in his room watching television when a younger man walked in asking for a job.

The victim, police said, told the intruder he was retired and had no work for him, then ushered him out of his room and locked the door behind him.

Shortly after, police said, the suspect returned, kicked down the elderly man’s door, and robbed him of his cash while armed with a small steak knife.

The suspect was described as a light-skinned black male, about 5-foot-8 with a stocky build and short hair. He was last seen wearing a black T-shirt, khaki pants and black shoes.

Crime statistics from 2006 and 2007 show that Trenton typically records around 600 robberies each year, so two per day in August appears to be on pace for a similar total, considering that all crime reports tend to be higher during the summer months.

Trenton police spokesman Detective Sgt. Pedro Medina said the map of robberies shows there appears to be a high concentration of reports coming from South Trenton and its border with Chambersburg in the East Ward.

Medina said areas that show an increase in incidents will receive increased patrols and other methods aimed at reducing crime.

While not minimizing their status as victims, Medina said that in many cases, members of the Latino community, and particularly illegal immigrants, are seen as easy prey for criminals.

Medina said these individuals are often paid in cash and often take their money with them when they go out to bars at night. Potential robbers then hunt for their victims by looking for people who get the most intoxicated and flash the most money.

Most of the reported crimes, Medina said, came from people saying they were robbed in the streets, but another recent case, from a storefront that was nearly robbed, provides an example of the Latino community as prey for robbers and thieves.

Monday night was the third time in recent memory that police were called out to the Armijos Travel Agency in the 1200 block of Hamilton Avenue.

Medina said the travel agent, along with booking trips and vacations, also operates as a currency courier, wiring money back home to family members in the immigrants’ home countries. Again, Medina said, since they cater to that community, the business deals in a lot of cash and becomes a target for criminals.

A woman working there pushed the panic button on the store’s alarm system Monday night when two men in black masks tried to force their way in.

The worker had just finished with a customer and locked the door after seeing two men acting suspiciously outside the store’s entrance.

The locks and alarm system did their job and the robbers were kept at bay, for now, Medina said.

Medina said some arrests have already been made in connection with this month’s robberies, but other reports turned out to be false claims from the alleged victims, who in many cases are lying to cover their own illegal activity.

In one recent case, Medina said, a 52-year-old man reported to police that he had been robbed because he tried to buy marijuana, but the dealer sold him some fake drugs. The “victimâ€