Newark Man Convicted of Robbing Man at Gunpoint

A city man has been convicted of first degree robbery after allegedly threatening to shoot a man in his kneecaps while demanding cash, authorities said.

Jamil Kollie, 19, was also hit with weapons charges in the January 2011 incident, where he allegedly pointed a gun at a man and demanded money on the corner of Schley Street and Chancellor Avenue in Newark, according to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

When the man, who was not identified, said he only had $12 at the time, Kollie told he need more and threatened to shoot the man's knees off. When the man agreed to use an ATM machine at a nearby store to get more cash, Kollie demanded the man's car keys and threatened to also take the car if he did not return.

Once inside the store, the man dialed 911, though Kollie fled the scene in the man's car with an unidentified man as the driver.

Kollie was convicted Friday by an Essex County jury, which deliberated for four hours before returning a guilty verdict.

Though Kollie committed the robbery as a juvenile, he was tried as an adult because of the seriousness of the crime, said Assistant Prosecutor Brian Matthews, who tried the case.

"This conviction is a clear statement that this sort of conduct will not be tolerated," Matthews said. "The guilty verdict also provides a measure of peace to the victim."

Kollie will be sentenced on January 25, 2013.