RED BANK — Footsteps in the snow led Red Bank police to a pair of robbery and assault suspects recently.
Tony Drake, Leighton Avenue, and David Lee Hutchinson, Neptune, both 18, were arrested on Feb. 28, the night of the recent heavy snowfall, at around 10 p.m. after an investigation.
On Feb. 28, a Red Bank resident reported he was approached by the two male subjects while he was walking along River Street, police said.
The two young men allegedly first tried to engage the victim in conversation, asking him for a cigarette, according to police.
They then reportedly began to assault him, knocking him to the ground. The two suspects then took the victim’s backpack and fled the area on foot, police said.
Patrolman Steven Adams, of the Red Bank Police Department, was the initial responding officer and he was able to follow the footsteps in the snow leading from the scene.
Adams located the victim’s backpack in the snow in the rear of a residence on River Street.
Subsequent investigation led to the arrest of Drake and Hutchinson for the alleged robbery and simple assault of the victim, police said.
The two men were each charged with one count of robbery and simple assault by the Red Bank police, police said.
Bail was set at $7,000. Drake was able to make bail and was released from Red Bank police headquarters. Hutchinson was later transported to the Monmouth County Correctional Center.