By: Richard L. Smith
Newark authorities say a man who claimed he was robbed at gunpoint last week has been arrested after detectives determined his story was fabricated.
According to Newark Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda Sr., Darryl Armstrong, 48, of Elizabeth, told police on Friday, August 22, 2025, that he was attacked near Springfield Avenue and South 15th Street.
Armstrong alleged that three men dressed in black jumped out of a dark sedan, pointed a gun at him, forced him to the ground, and stole his cellphone.
However, detectives reviewing surveillance video found no evidence of such a robbery.
Instead, footage revealed Armstrong at about 2:29 p.m. running into the middle of Springfield Avenue and grabbing the handle of a white SUV.
He lost his grip, fell face-first to the ground, and later stumbled into a liquor store in the 600 block of Springfield Avenue around 3 p.m. to call police.
Armstrong was treated at University Hospital, where he repeated his false account of being robbed. 
Detectives later placed him under arrest and charged him with false swearing.
The case remains under investigation.