LONG BRANCH — A police officer was flagged down by a man in the area of Third and Morris avenues, and the man reported that he had just been robbed at gunpoint by three males.
On Oct. 17, Police Officer Marco Rodrigues was on patrol when a Spanish-speaking male advised him that was the victim of a robbery. The victim stated that three males had approached him as he walked home on Morris Avenue, according to police reports.
According to the victim, one of the males was armed with a silver handgun. Rodrigues observed three males running east on Morris Avenue as he was speaking with the victim, and he left the victim and drove toward the three suspects.
The suspects observed the officer and continued running down Morris Avenue, according to police. One of the suspects ran into a residential driveway, authorities said.
The officer observed the other two males enter a car, which was parked at the corner of Second and Morris avenues. Police Officer Joseph Kennedy arrived on the scene to assist Rodrigues as he performed a motor vehicle stop on the parked vehicle.
Officers removed a 17-year-old male from the driver’s seat of the vehicle. The juvenile was found to be in possession of several hollow-point bullets, according to the police report.
Police then removed Michael Stratton, 20, from the front passenger seat and recovered a silver handgun and an undisclosed amount of cash under the front passenger seat, police said. The juvenile and Stratton were arrested at the scene.
The victim was gone when Rodrigues went back to further investigate the robbery. The victim never reported to police headquarters or followed up with the robbery investigation.
The third suspect was not located, authorities said.
The juvenile was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of prohibited ammunition. He was transported to the juvenile youth detention center.
Stratton was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and was transported to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Freehold Township. His bail was set at $15,000 with no 10 percent option.

