City Spokesperson Casie Yoder sent along this Decatur Police Alert late last night…
On Friday July 17 at approximately 8:15 p.m. the Decatur Police Department was notified of an armed robbery of a pedestrian near Oakhurst Park.
The 17-year-old male victim stated he was walking on the path between E Lake Road and the park when he was robbed by four males. The victim stated one of the males was armed with a handgun. The suspects stole the victim’s cellphone, money and backpack.
The victim stated he recognized some of the suspects, but did not know their names. Investigating officers recognized the description provided by the victim as matching that of a juvenile city resident with whom they were familiar. Officers located this juvenile a short time later and detained him for investigation.
The victim was brought to the suspect’s location, where he positively identified the juvenile as one of the people who robbed him. The juvenile was taken into custody. Officers continue to follow leads in identifying the other suspects.
Hate that a kid had to go through the horror of being held up at gunpoint. Hate that one of the perpetrators was one of our kids. Hate that the crime happened on a path that so many of us use so often and it wasn’t even after dark yet. Hoping that the victim can heal, the perpetrator can reform, and the path is safe in the future.
Well said.
I hope the fact that it is common knowledge that the victim identified his assailant does not endanger him.
Love that based on a physical description and no name, our police were able to narrow down and apprehend the suspect. That only happens with police who know their community (warts and all). It is sad that this happened ( have kids this age who could just as easily be that victim), but I doubt this crime would have had a similar and speedy resolution in some other nearby municipalities.