Police in Garfield, New Jersey arrested two men who allegedly robbed a victim of a $400 pair of sneakers at knifepoint.
The victim relayed to police that he had arranged to sell a pair of Travis Scott Air Jordans on January 10 in the parking lot of a Burlington Coat Factory, according to Police Captain Richard Uram.
Instead of making a sale, the victim found himself staring at the business end of a knife, while a second individual ” gestured as if he had a gun in his pocket and threatened to use it,” Captain Uram said.
It was at this point, the seller acquiesced and the robbers absconded with the sneakers.
One of the robbers was identified as Alexander Viera, 21 and the identity of the second crook , Israel Arroyo, 22, was discovered with help from the Hackensack Police Department.
Arroyo turned himself in on February 18. Viera was arrested on February 7 but somehow only spent six days in jail before being ordered to be released by a judge, pending further court action, under New Jersey’s 2017 bail reform law.
Both individuals were charged with first degree armed robbery and weapons offenses.
Garfield Police Chief Raymond Kovach said the city has a “safe-trade zone” just outside the PD’s headquarters where such transactions can be safely carried out.
