Crime & Safety

Reward Offered for Suspects in Armed Robbery Spree

Suspects hit gas stations in East Brunswick, South Brunswick, North Brunswick and Edison.

The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office and the county Crime Stoppers announced today that they're offering a reward for information that lead to the arrest of two suspects who carried out a series of armed gas station robberies, including one in East Brunswick last week.

At approximately 4:45 a.m. on Sept. 15, East Brunswick Police responded to a report of an armed robbery at the Exxon station at the corner of Route 18 and Rues Lane. The gas station attendant told responding officers that two males entered the station carrying a short handled shotgun and demanded money, according to police. The suspects made off with an undetermined amount of money, cigarettes, cigars and batteries, before they fled from the scene in a minivan parked behind the gas station. 

One suspect was described by police as a light skinned black male, standing approximately 6-feet to 6-feet-3-inches tall, bald with a medium build, wearing a long sleeve tan shirt with a checkered design and green/black camouflage pants. The second suspect was described by police as a black male, standing approximately 5-feet-7-inches to 6-feet tall, wearing black pants and a black hooded sweatshirt. 

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Both suspects were described as wearing what appeared to be white t-shirts wrapped around their faces to hide their identity. The incident matched another robbery carried out just a day later in South Brunswick.

In the early morning hours of Sept. 16, South Brunswick Police responded to the Valero gas station at the corner of Route 1 and Raymond Road at 4:38 a.m. The station's attendant told police that he was in the center booth by the gas pumps when two men approached on foot. 

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The attendant said the two suspects pushed in screen windows on both sides of the booth, as one pointed a sawed off shotgun at him demanding money and the victim's wallet, according to police.

The suspects made off with the cash box from the booth and then fled on foot towards Raymond Road. Both suspects were described by police as black males wearing what appeared to be white t-shirts wrapped around their faces. 

Similar additional robberies occurred on Sept. 21 at the BP gas station on Route 27 at Finnegans Lane in North Brunswick and Sept. 18 at the Fuel One South on Route 1 in Edison, according to authorities. Each of the robberies involved station

employees being threatened with shotguns and robbed at gunpoint, with two employees assaulted during the North Brunswick robbery. All of the robberies occurred in the early-morning hours, with the suspects fleeing in a dark-colored minivan in two of the incidents.

“These robberies share similarities with the weapon that was displayed and the timing, which all happened during the early morning hours," said South Brunswick Police spokesman Sgt. Jim Ryan. "There are enough similarities to make us believe these events are linked. 

Crime Stoppers of Middlesex County Inc. is offering cash rewards for anyone who can provide information anonymously by calling 800-939-9600, or you can visit middlesextips.com. Text messages can be sent to 274637 (CRIMES) with the keyword "midtip" followed by the message 

Tipsters will then be given instructions on how to collect a cash reward by using a numerical code recognized by a local bank that will pay the rewards following approval by Crime Stoppers.

Anyone with information can also call the various local police departments involved. For North Brunswick, call Det. Mike Sauvigne of the North Brunswick Police Department at 732-992-6150; For Edison, call Det. Sean Forker of the Edison Police Department at 732-248-7531; For South Brunswick, call Sgt. John Penny of the South Brunswick Police Department Investigations Bureau at 732- 329-4000, ext. 7470, and for East Brunswick call Det. John Breen of the East Brunswick Police Department at 732-390-6990.


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