By Jim Clark

A man ran to a police cruiser last Friday evening and told officers that his brother-in-law had just been robbed in the Mystic Projects, and he offered police a description of the vehicle that the alleged perpetrators were driving.

The reporting party told police that the vehicle was occupied by three males and one female.

As police arrived at the scene of the incident, they were met by the victim, who immediately pointed out the car in question. The man reportedly said, “It’s them. They stole my money.”

The officers ordered the occupants of the car to make their hands visible. The front seat passengers placed their hands on the dashboard, but two male in the back seat lowered their hands out of plain sight.

Officers reported that the two men in the back seat were not complying with orders and were moving in a manner that suggested they could be placing weapons in their hands.

Instead, upon closer examination through the car window, it appeared to officers that the men were attempting to hide something from them.

One of the men appeared to be hiding a bag of marijuana, while the other man was attempting to hide a stack of money and a folding knife.

One of the men, later identified as Nelson Portillo, 22, was ordered out of the car and told to place his hands on the vehicle while he was being frisked. Police said that Portillo resisted efforts to search his person and at one point grabbed one of the officer’s arms.

Portillo was placed in a headlock and taken to the ground, all the time resisting the officer’s efforts to restrain him.

Portillo was eventually handcuffed and taken into custody.

A search of the immediate area turned up several small bags of marijuana, along with a substantial amount of cash. A knife was also confiscated.

The other occupant of the back seat of the vehicle, Christian Velasquez-Palacios, 21, of Chelsea, was ordered out of the car and he was identified by the robbery victim as the one who stole his money.

Portillo was taken away to be booked on charges of resisting arrest and drug possession to distribute.

Velasquez-Palacios was placed under arrest and charged with violation of city ordinance possession of a dangerous weapon and unarmed robbery.