2 Who Robbed Jersey City Gas Attendants On Christmas Are Arrested: Police

JERSEY CITY, NJ — A man and woman who held up two employees of a Jersey City gas station on Christmas morning have been arrested, the city said Friday.

Jayden Goines, 21, of Newark was arrested on Jan. 30. He was charged with two counts of robbery causing bodily injury, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and other weapons charges.

Carmen Martinez, 21, of Union City was arrested at her home on Friday morning by Jersey City police and U.S. marshals. She was charged with robbery, two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, and other weapons charges.

Police say that on Dec. 25, around 3:16 a.m., Jersey City police responded to an assault in progress at the Delta Gas Station at 823 Tonnelle Ave.

Police said a man and woman approached a 42-year-old attendant, demanded money, and punched him. When the victim resisted, someone struck him in the head with a gun and he lost consciousness, police say.

The suspects then stole cash and the victim's cell phone. He was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

A second gas station employee, a 63-year-old man, left a nearby building during the robbery. Martinez pointed a gun at him and demanded money, police say. He gave her the cash.

Police say the suspects fired two shots before they left the scene.

The police issued a statewide Be On the Lookout (BOLO) alert. The investigation led to Goines and Martinez.

Police say the pair were connected to a similar armed robbery and aggravated assault at a gas station in Linden on Jan. 14.

Both suspects were found in possession of handguns reported stolen from Elizabeth, police said.

Goines was taken to the Essex County jail, and Martinez was taken to the Hudson County jail.

Mayor James Solomon stated, "This brazen act of violence on Christmas morning was an attack not just on two hardworking individuals, but on our entire community's sense of safety and security."

"Because of exceptional police work by the JCPD's Cease Fire Unit and our law enforcement partners, these two violent offenders are now behind bars and removed from our streets, where they can no longer endanger innocent people," said Acting Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose.