Newark man posed as ICE agent to rob victims, police say

👮‍♂️ Newark police say a man posed as an ICE agent to intimidate victims.

👮‍♂️ Investigators linked him to two early-morning robberies on North 8th Street.

👮‍♂️ The suspect was arrested near the crime scene days later.

NEWARK — A city man is charged with dressing up as an ICE agent to intimidate people while he stole their money, according to police.

Julio Garcia Barrera, 44, is charged with robbery and impersonating a public servant, Newark Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda, Sr. said.

Police said they've responded to at least two separate robberies within the last week that they've connected to Barrera.

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Victims report robberies after fake immigration stops

On Jan. 22, around 3:30 a.m., a man walked into the 7th Precinct police department on North 10th Street and reported that he had been robbed. He said the robbery happened two streets over, around half a mile away, on the 600 block of North 8th Street.

According to the victim, he was walking when a dark-colored SUV stopped on the street next to him. The driver got out, shined a flashlight on the victim, and then pointed to an emblem on his sweatshirt.

The driver said that he was an immigration officer and then put the victim up against the vehicle for a search, police said. During the pat-down, the suspect stole $500 in cash from the victim's wallet before he got back in his car and drove off.

Second robbery followed similar ICE impersonation pattern

Then on Jan. 24, two days later, another man called police around 3:40 a.m. and reported that he had been robbed on North 8th Street.

This second victim said that he was walking when two men got out of a beige Jeep. The driver walked toward the victim and held a flashlight in his face, while the Jeep's passenger stayed near the vehicle.

Police said the driver asked the victim if he was a U.S. citizen and then showed him an emblem with yellow "ICE" lettering. The suspect then pushed the man up against a brick wall and took his wallet, which had $300 cash and a debit card. The victim said that his debit card had since been used at several gas stations in East Orange.

Suspect arrested near North 8th Street crime scene

On Tuesday, detectives found Barrera sitting in a parked vehicle on 1st Avenue, which intersects North 8th Street around a quarter-mile away from where the robberies happened. Barrera was arrested, though police did not say how they linked him to the robberies.

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