WESTFIELD – City police investigating an armed robbery Thursday evening at Southwood Acres have determined that the victim was not randomly targeted and that residents of the apartment complex are not at any unusual risk.
Police reported Friday that on Thursday evening a resident of the apartment complex at 342 Southwick Road told police that he had been robbed when he returned to his apartment about 11 p.m.
The victim said that, after parking near his apartment, he was approached by two black men. He said that one of the men brandished a handgun and the duo robbed him, making off with his wallet and leaving him with his wrists bound as they fled.
Westfield Police Capt. Michael McCabe said that investigators have determined that the victim was not selected at random.
“I don’t want people at Southwoods to believe they are really at risk,” he said. “There are reasons why the victim was targeted and we do not believe there is any (unusual) risk to public safety” at the apartment complex.
Sgt. Stephan K. Dickinson, the lead investigator in the case, said that it appears that the suspects had waited for the victim in the parking lot and knew what they wanted to steal.
He reports that the man said that his assailants were asking questions such as “Where’s the safe?” and “Where’s the stuff?” and had wanted to go inside his apartment but were deterred by the presence of the victim’s roommate and a guest.
Dickinson said that, in his experience, home invasions are never random but are the acts of thieves trying to steal specific items.
He said that when he attempted to determine what the thieves were looking for and queried the man about the strong odor of marijuana in his car the victim referred him to his lawyer.
Dickinson said, because of the victim’s failure to cooperate with the investigation, he has closed the case.
