Clifton Williams IIICuyahoga County jail
CLEVELAND, Ohio — A Cleveland man is accused of committing two robberies in the same day, including one incident in which he targeted a group of teens and pistol-whipped one.
Clifton Williams III, 18, is charged with first-degree aggravated robbery. He appeared for arraignment Monday in Cleveland Municipal Court, where a judge set his bond at $100,000 and bound his case over to a Cuyahoga County grand jury.
Williams is accused in two Feb. 10 robberies less than two miles apart in the city’s Old Brooklyn and Brooklyn Centre neighborhoods.
The first incident happened about 11:30 p.m. on Archwood Avenue near West 37th Street. Four boys between the ages of 13 and 16 were in a driveway when a van rolled up and two men got out, according to a Cleveland police report.
The duo pulled out guns, ordered the group to the ground and pistol-whipped one of the boys, police say.
The pair robbed one teen of his pants and keys, and another of his backpack, tennis shoes and polo shirt. The robbers also made off with a phone, chargers and a second pair of tennis shoes, the report says.
As officers arrived at the scene, a second robbery was reported on Memphis Avenue near West 41st Street. Victims in that incident offered similar descriptions of the robbers and their van, the report says.
Within moments, police learned of a van driving the wrong way down a one-way street as it followed a second car, the report says. At least one of the vehicles then crashed near West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue. Police found Williams and a boy walking nearby, and arrested both after the boy tried to run away, the report says.
Officers found the boy wearing a pair of tennis shoes that matched the description of those stolen during the first robbery. A phone stolen from Memphis Avenue was also recovered, the report says.
Detectives filed court documents on Sunday asking that Williams be given a high bond in the case. They said Williams was already charged in a 26-count indictment for charges that include aggravated robbery and kidnapping.
Some of those counts stem from an Aug. 30 robbery at the Good Times Cafe on East 55th Street in the city’s North Broadway neighborhood. In that case, two armed men held guns to the heads of a bar employee and patron, then made off with cash, phones, cards, a Taser and a handgun, according to police reports.
Court documents say Williams failed to appear for a court hearing in that case, then lied to police about his identity when they arrested him Feb. 10.
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