Edison Man Guilty Of Linden 'Violent' Robbery, Kidnapping: Prosecutor

LINDEN, NJ — An Edison man was found guilty of a violent robbery of a Linden shoe store on New Year's Eve in 2012 that left two employees tied together, Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park announced.

Mervin Fitzgerald, 51, of Edison was convicted by a Union County jury on March 30 on charges of first-degree kidnapping and second-degree robbery following deliberations spread over two days and a two-week trial.

Fitzgerald and another man were found to have entered a Payless shoe store off of U.S. Routes 1&9 in Linden around 7:40 p.m. on New Year's Eve in 2012 and and forced two then-18- year-old female employees into a back room, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Kathleen Dillon, who prosecuted the case.

The women were ordered at gunpoint to lay down on the floor while they were tied together, Dillon said.

The two suspects stole around $200 cash and a customer found the bound employees shortly thereafter and called 911, Dillon said.

Fitzgerald was identified as a suspect in the case following an examination of DNA evidence, eyewitness accounts and an investigation led by a Linden Police Department now-retired Detective Eddie Adams and Detective David Kother.

Fitzgerald was arrested and charged in April 2014, with bail set at $200,000.

Fitzgerald was indicted in August 2014 before the case proceeded to trial. The other suspect in the robbery remains at large.

Sentencing in the case has been scheduled for May 12, 2017 before state Superior Court Judge Regina Caulfield. Fitzgerald could face up to 30 years in state prison on the first-degree kidnapping offenses.

(Image via Shutterstock)

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