Newark –Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II, announced today that Orlando Arnold, 29, of Irvington entered guilty pleas to four counts of robbery before the Honorable Mayra V. Tarantino, Judge of the Superior Court.
According to officials, under the terms of the plea agreement, Arnold agreed to plead guilty to four robberies in exchange for a 20-year prison sentence. Under the No Early Release Act, Arnold must serve 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.
“This defendant has a long history of committing robberies. The guilty plea and subsequent sentence will stop that pattern,’’ said Assistant Prosecutor Patrick Keating who handled the robbery cases with Assistant Prosecutor Peter Wujciak.
Arnold admitted to committing four robberies in March of 2017. On March 18, 2017, he robbed the manager of a discount food store in Irvington at gunpoint of $500. Later that same day, Arnold robbed a deli grocery in the 600 block of North 6th Street in Newark.
Authorities say, on March 18, 2017, Arnold entered a market in the 200 block of Springdale Avenue in East Orange and pulled a gun on the clerk who insisted he did not have any money. Arnold stole two cakes and threatened to come back.
Finally, on March 20, 2017, Arnold robbed a t-shirt store in the 600 block of Broadway in Newark. He pulled a gun on the clerk, told her to cooperate or he would shoot her. He then stole four pairs of jeans, two sweatpants, eight t-shirts, three baseball caps, one pack of socks, two wrist watches, one pair of earrings, one pair of sunglasses, two packs of underwear, eight tank tops, two thermal shirts, two sweaters and $250 in cash. He also took the victim’s cell phone and the store phone.
Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 5. Arnold has two prior felony convictions for robbery and unlawful possession of a weapon.