Police urge other victims to come forward
Three arrests were made Thursday following a series of robberies of Hispanic men Sept. 8 on Franklin Avenue.
Princeton Borough police say they are looking for at least one or two additional perpetrators and as many as 10 additional victims.
Vonzell Irving Kelley, 18, of Princeton and Channin Gardner, 19, of Trenton have been charged with numerous criminal offenses, including robbery. A 17-year-old Princeton Township male was similarly charged. The juvenile was placed in the Mercer County Youth Detention Center in Ewing, and Mr. Kelley and Mr. Gardner are being held on bail of $300,000 each at the Mercer County Detention Center.
While only three Hispanic males have come forward to report being robbed and beaten between 10 and 11 p.m. on the night of Sept. 8, Princeton Borough Lt. Dennis McManimon said the department is looking for anywhere between six and 10 additional Hispanic male victims to come forward. This information, he said, is based on the cooperation of some individuals who have been interviewed in the investigation.
Lt. McManimon stressed that police will not ask any individuals who come forward to report their documentation status, and are looking only to prosecute the perpetrators of the criminal activity, believed to be gang-related. Spanish-speaking officers will be available to assist any victims who do not speak English.
"We have reason to believe that some of the active participants in the robberies were members of a street gang," Lt. McManimon said, citing the Bloods. Given this information, he said, the police department has been in contact with the gang units of both the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office. This is the most significant gang-related activity in Princeton in the past few months, according to Lt. McManimon.
Anyone with information on the beatings and robberies should contact Detective Sgt. Christopher Quaste at (609) 921-8108.