Gary PD robbery task force nabs 2 teens

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Updated: March 5, 2012 8:05AM

GARY — Just hours into the robbery task force’s first night, police apprehended two teenage suspects moments after a man reported he was robbed and beaten.

The 52-year-old victim reported he was walking in the 2200 block of Harrison Street when about eight young men approached him from the east side of the street and attacked him.

All assailants were wearing school uniforms, but one also had a red hat and another wore a red hooded sweatshirt, Cpl. Gabrielle King said.

The teen wearing the hat said, “Let’s beat him up,” and the group began to hit the victim. They fled with his cell phone, King said.

Task force members Lt. Samuel Roberts and Patrolmen Isiah Price and Keith Richardson arrived in the area and began searching for the suspects.

They found several teens standing outside a house in Delaney Community Housing Development. The victim identified two of them as part of the group that robbed him, King said.

Police arrested arrested two boys, ages 14 and 15, who were later held at the Lake County Juvenile Detention Center on charges of robbery and battery.

Newly appointed Chief Wade Ingram said he asked the patrol commander to assign a group of officers to focus on robberies.

“It’s hard to look for signs of robberies if you’re taking calls every 10 minutes,” Ingram said.

Task force officers would assist in the event of an emergency call, but their primary assignment is to be in the areas where the robberies are occurring, Ingram said.

Reach Lori Caldwell at 648-3258.