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The victim called police at 6:30 last night near the Commodore Perry ballfield next to Island Road immediately after the holdup and described his assailants, whom he knew, Batelli said.
The Mahwah teen “explained that he had met three individuals near a Route 17 diner to purchase what he believed to be cocaine,” Batelli said today.
He said he walked away after they showed him a product that he believed fake, the chief said.
The trio “then followed him down Island Road trying to convince him the substance was actually cocaine,” Batelli said.
As he approached the recreation area of the athletic facility, the teen told police, one of the three jumped him from behind and wrestled him down, then took $60 from him.
He sustained some minor bruises but declined immediate medical treatment, the chief said.
Thanks to the quick phone call, responding Officer David Vega spotted the three suspects running down West Ramapo Avenue.
Vega got out of his vehicle, ordered them to stop, then took them into custody, with support from backup officers.
The adults were identified as Daniel F. Mapes, 18, Adam P. Krilla, 19, and a 15-year-old juvenile, all of Mahwah.
The teen’s cash was recovered — and the substance wasn’t cocaine, Batelli said.
Krilla and Mapes were charged with robbery, assault and theft. Both were being held on $75,000 each in the Bergen County Jail.
A juvenile complaint was signed against the third member of the trio for the same offenses. He was taken to the Juvenile Detention Center in Teterboro pending a hearing in Family Court.
MUGSHOTS: Courtesy MAHWAH PD
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