UPDATE: Suspect Motas-Peña's bail was set at $50,000. The 13-year-old was held on $10,000 cash bail. Condition's of the teen's release if he meets bail include avoiding Franklin Park, his co-defendant and the victim. The teem must also wear a GPS monitoring device.
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On Saturday, just after police swarmed Jamaica Pond looking for three muggers who tried to rob a pair of dogwalkers, cops caught two people in a Franklin Park armed robbery with strong similarities to the Pond attacks.
Saturday's incident took place at 2:31 p.m. on Jewish War Veterans Drive — the golf course in Franklin Park. A victim was approached by three males who robbed him of some personal papers, a T-Mobile phone and wedding ring, according to Police Officer Neva Coakley. The victim was tied up, just as was done in a Sept. 24 mugging at the Pond.
Officers found three people matching the descriptions given in the Franklin Park attack at Washington and Boylston, Coakley said. Police captured two of them while one got away.
The victim told police he'd dropped someone at the Zoo and was taking his dog for a walk in the park. During the walk, he saw three people sitting on a bench. The trio got up and followed him. They surrounded the man, showing knives, and forced him off the path into nearby bush. They tied him hand and foot, robbed him, and fled.
Police arrested Rafael Motas-Peña, 21, of Dorchester and a 13-year-old boy. Both are charged with kidnapping, assault with intent to murder and armed robbery.
Those charges are in relation to Saturday's golf course incident, Coakley said. Police are investigating if there are links to any of the Pond muggings.
Previous coverage on Jamaica Plain News:
- Police Vow to Keep Up Extra Patrols Until Pond Muggers Caught
- Armed Robberies at Pond Spark Emergency Community Meeting
- Victim Tied to Tree at Pond as Armed Robbers Strike Twice
- Bicyclist Robbed of Laptop, Phone and Cash at Jamaica Pond
[Editor's note: The original posting misspelled one suspect's name. The post has also been updated with additional details from police.]