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A 20-year-old city resident was jumped about 9:30 p.m. in the 500 block of Zook Avenue and robbed of thousands of dollars in merchandise and cash, according to investigators.
The robber struck the victim in the face with a handgun, then took the man's Breitling Bentley watch, white gold chain, Blackberry phone and cash, while displaying the gun, police said.
Police charged 21-year-old Pedro Louis Rodriguez Jr. with committing the robbery. Officers said they found the alleged robber getting into a Dodge Neon on East New Street soon after the alleged attack.
The victim and an eyewitness identified Rodriguez as the bandit.
A man inside the Dodge, Josue Luis Medina, 26, of Marietta, was charged with receiving stolen property for buying the watch — for $5.
Officials said genuine Breitling Bentley watches retail for thousands of dollars. The gold chain also is worth thousands and the phone about $400. Police don't believe the robber knew the victim, saying it was a "random" crime.
A third person in the Dodge, Christopher McCowin, 25, of North Plum Street, was taken into custody for outstanding warrants.
Rodriguez was at Lancaster County Prison on Wednesday night in lieu of $250,000 bail, and the other men were there in lieu of $100,000 bail apiece.
Police recovered two handguns from inside the Dodge and are tracing them to see if they were stolen. The stolen loot also was found inside the Dodge, police said.
While there has been a recent surge of city street robberies — and arrests — police said that's not necessarily because of the warmer temperatures. Fights and and other disturbance-type calls increase with the temperatures, police spokesman Todd Umstead said, but warm weather doesn't necessarily equate to more street robberies.
"It's common sense: more people in the streets means more targets for criminals," Umstead said. However, the sergeant noted, more people outside also means more potential witnesses.
E-mail: bhambright@lnpnews.com
