D.C. police said they’ve tracked down one man in a four-person crew who randomly assaulted, kidnapped and robbed nine people last month.
Nathan Coleman, a Northwest resident who police say is 28 years old, went before a judge Tuesday, to learn that he’s charged with armed kidnapping, armed robbery, firearm possession among others, in connection with a rash of robberies in August.
Investigators matched up neighbors’ and businesses’ surveillance videos to the police reports of nine victims, according to charging documents.
The victims’ stories share important details: most were approached in the early hours of the morning by a group of three or four men wearing ski masks, who put them in a vehicle. Some of the victims had their hands zip-tied behind their back; others were kicked and punched until they all gave up the PIN to their accounts and phones, which were already removed from their bodies.
Some were driven to ATMs to withdraw cash at gunpoint. One victim managed to scare off the attackers at the scene, the documents said, and while the suspects stole cash from his wallet, he picked up their backpack abandoned on the street, which contained two other stolen iPhones.
D.C. police detectives traced the activity of those stolen phones to identify three co-conspirators and Coleman. They also tracked the transfer of stolen money — at least $1,200 of which went to a PayPal account linked to Coleman’s email address, the documents said.
Coleman waived his Miranda rights and confessed, the documents said.
A 14-year-old boy was also arrested and charged in connection with the crimes, according to police.
