AMESBURY – A Congress Street man was released from custody last week after spending two months in jail for punching a teen in the Upper Millyard in a successful attempt to steal a backpack full of marijuana, according to police.
Tres Johnson, 20, of 9 Congress St, Apt. F1, was charged in November with unarmed robbery, unarmed assault to rob and assault and battery.
Johnson pleaded guilty to assault and battery Thursday in Newburyport District Court and was sentenced to two years probation.
The unarmed assault to rob charge was dropped while the unarmed robbery charge was reduced to larceny from a person. That charge was continued without a finding for a year. Johnson had been in custody since his arrest in November.
During his time on probation, he must remain drug and alcohol free with random screens and have no contact with the victim.
His plea comes more than two months after he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and trespassing after he and two other men threatened a man with realistic-looking BB pistols on Greenwood Street in September. He was sentenced to a year’s probation and fined $150.
Johnson attacked a 17-year-old boy on the Upper Millyard walkway near the Barking Dog restaurant Nov. 8 about 5 p.m., according to a police report.
The victim told police that Johnson punched him in the back of the head and tried to steal his backpack. When the teen grabbed Johnson in a headlock, a second man wrenched the backpack away.
“Why are you doing this?” the victim said. The second man, later identified as Brian Pineda, replied, “I have to” according to Amesbury police Officer A.J. Pesci’s report.
The victim then chased Pineda several hundred yards toward a liquor store but gave up the chase after spotting Johnson coming toward him.
“(The victim) stated that he was concerned for his safety and was afraid of getting shot or stabbed so he stopped struggling to get his backpack back,” Amesbury police Officer Danielle Bower wrote in her report.
Police spoke to the victim, who admitted he was going to sell Johnson and Pineda a large amount of marijuana. He told police he knew the men who attacked him from social media and it was through Snapchat that he agreed to sell them marijuana.
Pineda was one of three men who allegedly threatened a man with a BB gun in September. The third man, Malik Benton of Amesbury, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and trespassing and was ordered to pay $250 in fines. Benton was also charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. That charge was continued without a finding for a year.
Police attempted to locate Pineda and Johnson but with no luck. As a result, police issued arrest warrants for both of them, according to police records.
Pineda is on the run after failing to show in court for the BB gun arrest, according to the Essex District Attorney’s Office.
Staff writer Dave Rogers can be reached at drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.
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