Arrest Made After 77-Year-Old Man Robbed At Gunpoint Inside Bronx Apartment Building
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A 77-year-old man was robbed at gunpoint inside his Bronx apartment building on Monday, and it was all caught on camera.
Now, other residents are questioning the building's security guards.
The Erma Cava Houses, located on Southern Boulevard near Barretto Street in the Longwood section of the borough, provide housing for seniors. Many residents had no idea what happened.
Surveillance video shows the suspect, wearing a black jacket with a fur-lined hood, breeze by the security desk just before 11 a.m. on Monday, no questions asked.
The suspect goes into the elevator with the victim, and when they come out the suspect pulls out a gun and demands money.
"We are seniors and we need somebody to take care of us, because that is not supposed to happen," resident Laura Dores said.
The victim gave up $18 before the suspect ran away. Dores said she's seen the victim around and fears that anyone could have been a target.
"If that was me, he's going to hit me. Maybe today I would be ready for the funeral," Dores said.
The signs outside of the building clearly say no trespassing and indicate the building uses video surveillance, but this incident has residents questioning the security guards inside.
"The security knows who lives there (and) who doesn't live there. They're supposed to watch," resident Juan Perez said.
On heightened alert Tuesday morning, a security guard kept CBS2's Cline-Thomas from getting too close to the building. Many long-time residents said Monday's incident marked first time anything like that had ever happened.
There are a lot of questions that the property management refused to answer, offering instead a "no comment."
Police announced the arrest of Tyler Dortch, 21, of the Bronx in connection to the robbery. He's charged with robbery, assault, burglary, and criminal possession of a weapon.
Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website, on Twitter @NYPDTips or by texting them to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
