TRENTON, NJ – The Trenton Police Department today recognized Detective Ortiz for a robbery arrested after an 11-year-old boy was robbed of his cellphone and dragged by a van while waiting for his school bus.
According to Trenton Police, on May 3rd, at approximately 7:30 am, an 11-year-old victim was waiting for the school bus on the corner of Prospect Village and Prospect Street.
“The victim was on his phone when he was approached by the suspect (Kalyan Reddy), who was operating a white Home Depot Van, who pulled up next to him. The suspect requested to borrow the victims’ phone in order contact his mother and the victim refused,” police said in a statement. “The suspect then snatched the phone away from the victim and began to drive away at a high rate of speed – while dragging the victim, who was hanging off the sliding door. The victim fell off the van on Prospect Street just short of Stuyvesant Avenue, while the suspect continued fleeing on Prospect Street toward Bellevue Avenue and out of sight.”
At that time, the child ran home to tell his mother who then called the police. Officers who arrived at the scene said the boy sustained visible signs of injury and was treated and released on scene by Trenton EMS.
“Detective Ortiz from the Major Crimes Unit was contacted and in charge of the investigation. Same was able to ascertain key investigative details along with the assistance from the Real Time Crime Center (RTCC), where the van was tracked down. The Home Depot van was tracked down a few hours later in Philadelphia, P.A. on Kensington Avenue,” the department said. “Following investigative leads and after combing through video evidence and documents, Det. Ortiz was able to track the suspect down to a nearby hospital. Upon making contact, the suspect was placed under arrest and charged accordingly.”
