Lakewood Man Charged In Armed Robbery Of Pharmacy

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A Lakewood man has been charged in connection with the armed robbery of a Lakewood pharmacy on March 26, police said Wednesday.

Elioenai Aguinaga Figueroa, 31, was arrested Tuesday after Lakewood police saw him and another man engaged in a drug transaction, Capt. Gregory Staffordsmith said.

Detectives Patrick Kearns and Tyler DiStefano arrested Aguinaga and Krzysztof Slusarz, 39, of Lakewood, Florida, after seeing the two making the transaction in the area of Second Street and Madison Avenue, Staffordsmith said. They also realized Aguinaga fit the description of a man who was accused of robbing Taylor's Pharmacy at gunpoint.

The robbery happened just before 9:30 a.m. on March 26, when a man walked into the pharmacy, which is on the corner of Second Street and Madison Avenue, brandished a semi-automatic handgun and demanded money from the register. A store employee walked over to the register and handed the man $130, Staffordsmith said. The man then ran off, and a search of the area by responding officers was unsuccessful.

The suspect was described as a Hispanic male, short hair, about 5-foot-10, with a tattoo on his face or neck. He was last seen wearing a black hat, black jacket, black shoes and black sweatpants, and had a red-and-black bandana covering the lower half of his face.

Police investigated the crime for three weeks before a man, now identifed as Aguinaga, was seen in the area Tuesday afternoon. After Kearns and DiStefano made the arrest, further investigation by Detective Kevin Donnelly confirmed Aguinaga's involvement in the pharmacy robbery, Staffordsmith said.

Aguinaga has been charged with robbery, possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and drug violations and sent to the Ocean County Jail.

Slusarz was charged with drug violations and released on a summons pending a future court date.

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