Trio Robbed Secaucus, Nutley Dunkin' Donuts With Gun, Police Charge

SECAUCUS, NJ — In the pre-dawn hours of April 9 (Easter Sunday), both the Secaucus Dunkin' Donuts on County Avenue and the Nutley Dunkin' Donuts were robbed at gunpoint.

Police say the same group of men robbed both businesses, and their arrests were announced Tuesday by Secaucus Police, who released the following:

At 2:56 a.m. April 9, Secaucus Police were called to the Dunkin’ Donuts at 216 County Avenue for a report of an armed robbery. Two men, later identified as Ocean Roberts and Yanik Pendleton, entered the establishment and Roberts brandished a black handgun, said police.

While holding the store employee at gunpoint, they stole approximately $350 in cash from the register and fled to an awaiting Chevrolet Equinox, which was occupied.

Wilmer Arias-Dejesus and a fourth man acted as “lookouts” while Pendleton and Roberts were inside the Dunkin' Donuts, said police.

A few hours later, at 5:41 a.m., the Dunkin’ Donuts at 177 Washington Avenue in Nutley was robbed at gunpoint and police think the same four men were responsible.

Detectives from the Secaucus Police Anti-Crime Unit worked collaboratively with Nutley Police detectives and broadcast the information to all law enforcement agencies in the state.

At 12:15 a.m. April 11, a police officer in Springfield located the Chevrolet Equinox in a parking lot near a Wawa in that town. Springfield police searched the car and officers located a black 9mm handgun with a defaced serial number and seventeen-round magazine in the car.

On that date, Roberts, 19, of Bayonne, was placed under arrest and charged with unlawfully possessing the handgun. He was charged with Armed Robbery [2C:15-1a], Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery [2C:5-2a(1)/2C:15-2a], Unlawful Possession of Handgun [2C:39-5(b)], Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose [2C:39-4a(1)], Possession of a Defaced Firearm [2C:39-3(d)], Possession of a High Capacity Magazine [2C:39-3(j)], Aggravated Assault [2C:12-1b(4)], Criminal Restraint [2C:13-2a] and Endangering the Welfare of a Child [2C:24-4a(2)]. He is being held in the Essex County Jail.

On April 15, Pendleton, 22, of Bayonne was arrested and charged with Armed Robbery [2C:15-1a], Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery [2C:5-2a(1)/2C:15-2a]. He was transported to the Hudson County Jail.

On April 16, Arias-Dejesus, 19, of East Newark, was arrested and charged with Armed Robbery [2C:15-1a], Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery [2C:5-2a(1)/2C:15-2a]. He was transported to the Hudson County Jail.

The fourth man remains at large.

Anyone with additional information can contact the Secaucus Police Detective Division at (201) 330-2052 or detectivedivsion@secaucusnjpolice.gov