Former Seton Hall University student and basketball player Kelly Whitney, 27, of Chicago entered a not guilty plea at an arraignment today, Monday, March 22, 2010 in Newark before the Honorable Amilkar Velez-Lopez on charges stemming from a robbery on March 15, 2010 in South Orange.
Current student and former basketball player, Robert Mitchell, 23, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was arraigned last Thursday, March 18, 2010 before the same judge in the case.
The judge set bail at $650,000 for Whitney and ordered a bail source hearing. The judge also ordered Whitney to have no contact with witnesses and victims involved in the case and to stay away from the Seton Hall University campus.
Along with Mitchell, Whitney allegedly entered a residence located on Irvington Avenue in South Orange on Monday, March 15, 2010 and forced occupants to move from various rooms into a common area where they were forced at gunpoint to turn over their cash and personal items.
Various items, including credit cards, cell phones, drivers’ licenses, debit cards, digital cameras and approximately $300 in cash, were taken. Mitchell and Whitney then allegedly fled the scene in a vehicle that has since been recovered.
Mitchell was arrested on March 16, 2010 and charged with kidnapping, burglary and weapons offenses. Whitney was arrested at approximately 11 p.m. on March 18, 2010 at a Newark hotel. He was charged with eight counts of kidnapping, eight counts of aggravated assault, robbery, burglary and weapons charges.
