Officials said on Wednesday, July 7th, at approximately 10:21 p.m., Wayne Police Officers were dispatched to the Days Inn motel for a reported theft.
Police Officer Michael Sweeney interviewed the victim and learned that he had been robbed at gunpoint.
Police said the male victim reported that he had met a female at Days Inn for the purpose of paying her for sexual acts. The victim stated that the female met him at the motel room and a knock at the door shortly after she was in the room.
According to police, a female then opened the door and let in a second female and a male wearing masks and hoods. The male produced a shotgun from a guitar case and pointed it at the victim and the second female produced a baseball bat from a bag.
According to police, the victim stated that both the male and second female threatened him and demanded his belongings. At one point, the male and second female exchanged the shotgun and the second female put it to the victim’s head.
The victim was ordered to stay in the bathroom with the door closed and the first female, the male and the second female all fled the scene together with the victim’s belongings, according to police.
Members of the Wayne Police Detective Bureau responded and continued the investigation, with Detective Michael Polifrone as the lead investigator.
Video from the motel showed all three suspects enter the motel and it showed the second female and the male carrying the bag and guitar case that carried the weapons.
The victim stated that he had met with the first female to engage in acts of prostitution in the past and that he believed her name to be Mariam. He advised detectives that she sometimes stays at the Red Carpet Inn in Elmwood Park.
Police said a further investigation led detectives to a possible suspect named Mariam Mohammed.
On Friday, July 9th, detectives from Wayne and Elmwood Park Police Departments were conducting surveillance of the Red Carpet Inn when they
learned that Ms. Mohammed was present in the motel. Wayne Police Detective Sergeant Vincent Ricciardelli, Detective Ken Hart and Elmwood Park Detective Christopher Miranda went to Ms. Mohammed’s room while Detective Tom Kartanowicz covered the outside to prevent escape.
Det/Sgt. Ricciardelli contacted the door with Ms. Mohammed, whom he immediately recognized as the female from the video surveillance at Days Inn. He also observed the second female and male suspects seated on the bed in the motel room.
All three were taken into custody without incident. A baseball bat was found in the hotel room. The suspects were transported to Wayne Police Headquarters and interviewed. Statements were made that acknowledged the outstanding shotgun and provided a description of it that matched the victim’s description of the weapon.
Upon determining the male suspect’s correct apartment number in Passaic, Wayne Police Detectives executed a search warrant there with the assistance of the Passaic Police Department.
They located the shotgun suspected to be the one used in the robbery. The victim’s identifying documents and bank cards were also found at the apartment. Police arrested Mariam Mohammed, 22, of Clifton, Jessica Bell-Tulloch, 22, of Paterson and Damony James, 20, of Passaic.
All three were charged with Robbery, Burglary, Theft, Unlawful Possession of a Weapon and Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose.
All three were charged on complaint warrants and placed in Passaic County Jail pending a detention hearing.