Police, Patron Chase Man Accused Of Robbing South Brunswick Liquor Store

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — A patron in a South Brunswick liquor store on Friday chased down a man accused of shoplifting from the store — but the man couldn't get away because he was weighed down with liquor bottles stuffed in his jeans, police said.

South Brunswick police say the man is a serial shoplifter who has stolen more than a thousand dollars’ worth of alcohol in the past week from several liquor stores in the Township, and some in Hamilton and East Windsor.

South Brunswick police were called to the Viking Buy-Rite Liquors on Rt. 1 at 4:30 Friday afternoon for a shoplifting in progress. The caller said the man was the same person who had stolen from them a week earlier. As the caller contacted police, the suspect fled. A patron, Al Nardi, began to chase after him.

As Officer Michael Leung arrived, he observed Nardi running after the man, who was still trying to conceal alcohol bottles in his pants as he ran, police said. In the video, you can hear Officer Leung order the man to stop. Officer Leung chased the suspect across the strip mall and arrested him in the parking lot.

Dennis Jackson, 54, of Trenton, was charged with stealing from Viking Liquors on three occasions between July 14 and 21, and stealing on one occasion from Liquor City on Rt. 1 on July 14. This is hardly the first incident at the local Viking Liquors: In February, a man was accused of robbing the Viking Buy-Rite and then hiding in an eight-foot snowbank. When officers found him, he was suffering from frostbite and had to be treated for hypothermia at Robert Wood Johnson. Read: New Jersey Man Hides From Police in Snowbank, Gets Frostbite and Hypothermia

South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond Hayducka credited Nardi for chasing the man.

“The suspect had targeted local business owners over the past week. Officer Leung arrived in less than a minute after the call and clearly saw the suspect who was running away from Mr. Nardi. The team effort put an end to a series of crimes,” Chief Hayducka said.

Jackson was linked to similar cases in East Windsor and Hamilton over the past month.

From South Brunswick police: Video shows Officer Leung arriving in his patrol car as the suspect is running away with the liquor bottle in his pants. The suspect is seen running in front of the strip mall with Officer Leung in pursuit. The second half of the video is from a second patrol car arriving on scene with Officer Leung having already caught the suspect.