A Leonia NJ teen got robbed in Englewood New Jersey while playing the Pokemon Go game on his iPhone.
The new Pokemon game is incredibly popular and has prompted national headlines as millions of people throughout the country play the game on their phones. The addictive Pokemon game requires players to use GPS tracking on their cell phones and then “capture” Pokemon characters in real locations.
A potential problem posed by the Pokemon Go game is that players can fail to pay attention to the world around them as they are engaged with the game. This can lead to disastrous outcomes, as reportedly happened to the Leonia teenager.
The victim, a 16-year-old boy who lives in Leonia NJ, was mugged after he accidentally wandered into Englewood NJ. The victim was reportedly distracted by the Pokemon game when the suspect approached him and began to attack him. The suspect also allegedly ordered the victim to turn out his pockets and hand over any cash he had.
As this was happening, an Englewood NJ police officer happened to walk by. The Englewood cop was searching for a suspect accused of stealing a bike in the area. It is believed that the same suspect may have committed both theft incidents.
The suspect, a 19-year-old man from Fort Lee NJ, was placed under arrest at the scene. He has been charged with multiple criminal offenses, including robbery and resisting arrest. The suspect also got cited for refusal to be fingerprinted and photographed while he was being booked at Englewood police headquarters.
If the suspect is convicted of robbery, he would be subject to severe criminal penalties. That’s because N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1 classifies a violent theft as a second degree felony. A conviction on second degree robbery charges could result in the suspect being sentenced to 5-10 years in NJ State Prison.
After being placed under arrest and processed, the Fort Lee suspect was transported to the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack, NJ. He was being held at the correctional facility on a $50,000 bail amount.
To learn more about this case, view the NorthJersey.com article, “Leonia Teenager Playing Pokemon Go Mugged in Englewood.”