NEW BRUNSWICK – A fingerprint found on a cellphone stolen from a home-invasion robbery victim – along with text messages and "trophy" photos – helped investigators link two Rutgers football players to a series of violent crimes, a prosecutor said Wednesday. Andre Boggs, 20, and Tejay Johnson, 23, are charged with armed robbery in the months-long spree. Jianan Chen,...
NEW BRUNSWICK - A fingerprint found on a cellphone stolen from a home-invasion robbery victim - along with text messages and "trophy" photos - helped investigators link two Rutgers football players to a series of violent crimes, a prosecutor said Wednesday.
Andre Boggs, 20, and Tejay Johnson, 23, are charged with armed robbery in the months-long spree. Jianan Chen, 19, of New Brunswick, is also charged with armed robbery for allegedly helping Boggs and Johnson find people they could rob, prosecutors allege.
The three entered not guilty pleas through their attorneys in separate court appearances in New Brunswick Superior Court on Wednesday. They are being held in the Middlesex County jail on high bail amounts, which Judge Dennis Nieves refused to lower.
Boggs grinned for news photographers as they snapped his picture and took video of him as he sat in the jury box while his attorney spoke. Chen appeared in court with a bandage on the right side of his neck. Attorneys would not comment about the injury.
Prosecutors said Boggs and Johnson wore ski masks and broke into homes carrying knives and hammers. Often, they stole hundreds of dollars in cash and drugs.
When Chen was arrested, he was in possession of $35,000 cash and 92 grams of marijuana, according to prosecutors.
During a home invasion in Piscataway, "there happened to be someone a little bit bigger than them on the other side of the door," said Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Kuberiet.
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A scuffle ensued and Boggs suffered a cut. The robbers fled the home with nothing, Kuberiet said. The prosecutor would not say if DNA evidence had been obtained.
After another home invasion, Johnson "dropped a cellphone belonging to a victim," Kuberiet said.
Johnson's fingerprint was found on the phone, Kuberiet said. The evidence led police to the former Rutgers football player as well as his alleged accomplices, Kuberiet said.
Police later seized several cellphones from the suspects and discovered they had bragged about the crimes in text messages, according to authorities.
"The perpetrators took pictures - trophies - of their (stolen) proceeds," the assistant prosecutor said in court.
In addition to physical evidence, two of the suspects have identified Boggs as an active participant in the crimes, Kuberiet said.
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Along with Boggs, Johnson and Chen, two others have been charged in the robberies. Dylan Mastriana, a Rutgers student, is accused of helping them plan the crimes, and Kaylanna Ricks, 20, of Perth Amboy, allegedly drove the getaway car.
In a separate case, Johnson and several former and current Rutgers University football players were charged with aggravated assault in a fight on Delafield Street that left one victim with a broken jaw.
The final suspect in the assault case turned himself in Wednesday morning, his lawyer said. Daryl Stephenson, a former Rutgers student and football player, was in Florida when the charges were filed last week, according to his lawyer, William Fetky.
The university placed seven students on interim suspension, and five current football players were kicked off the team after the charges were announced.
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.