Two Concord teens with prior arrest records are due in court this morning after attempting earlier this month to rob four Bhutanese refugees at knife point, the police announced this morning.
The men, Tyler Burley and Brett Reno, both 19, were arrested late Friday, Lt. Timothy O’Malley said in a press release. They’re accused of threatening the group outside an East Side Drive apartment complex shortly after midnight on Oct. 13. Burley and Reno share an apartment at the address, as do some of the victims, O’Malley said.
The victims, who the police have not identified, were taking out their trash when Burley and Reno allegedly stopped them in the parking lot and said, “Give us $20 or we will kill you guys.” Burley, the taller of the two, brandished a knife, the victims told the police.
When they refused to hand over any cash, one of the two men struck one of them in the face with his hand, O’Malley said. Burley subsequently punched another victim in the mouth, causing a severe laceration.
The victims reportedly fled the scene, running to one of their cars and driving to a friend’s house, where they phoned 911.
The police said the victims believe they were targeted because of their national origin and the suspects’ assumption that they would not report the robbery.
“The suspects allegedly told the victims that they knew they were Nepali and that they wouldn’t report the crime,” O’Malley said. O’Malley said the victims are of Bhutanese heritage but appear to have spent time in Nepal before arriving in the United States.
Reproduced from Concordmonitor.com
