A cyclist rides past a Cita Sadeli “Chelove” mural near Fifth and T streets NE on the Metropolitan Branch Trail on May 13, 2015. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)
D.C. police on Friday arrested a 15-year-old boy and charged him with Tuesday’s robbery of a man who authorities said was attacked by 14 youths along the Metropolitan Branch Trail, popular for bicycling and jogging in Northeast Washington.
Police said the youth, from Northeast, was charged with robbery by force and violence. He was not identified because he is a juvenile. Police said they are looking for additional suspects.
[Pack of 14 youths rob man on Metropolitan Branch Trail]
The attack occurred about 4:50 p.m. along the trail near Fifth and T streets NE. The victim was taken to a hospital with injuries described as not life-threatening.
Police said that about 14 male juveniles, all on bicycles, were involved in stealing the man’s cellphone. Police said several of the youths assaulted the man.
Authorities have not said whether Tuesday’s robbery is connected to another robbery that occurred about 7 p.m. on March 12, on the trail south of Rhode Island Avenue NE.
Police said a man riding a bicycle was shoved into a railing. His cellphone fell from his pocket. Police said the assailants beat him and threatened him with a steak knife before picking up the phone and running away.
[Past robberies, attacks unnerve people along popular trail]
People using the trail have been targeted by robbers several times over the past few years. A rash of robberies in 2011 prompted a Guardian Angels patrol, and regular users set up safety walks.
The trail — sometimes joining city streets — runs from Union Station to Silver Spring along an old line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.