Men Punched Clerk, Robbed Toms River Convenience Store: Police

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Authorities are searching for two men who punched a convenience store clerk in the face before robbing the store Tuesday night, Toms River police said.

Two men went into the store at the corner of Cox Cro Road and Lakewood Road about 9 p.m. Tuesday, walked behind the counter and started punching the clerk, said Jillian Messina, media relations specialist for the Toms River Police Department.

After they punched him in the face several times they forced him to open the register, then took the money in the register before running out of the store, Messina said.

The amount of cash taken was not disclosed, she said.

The clerk was evaluated by Pleasant Plains EMS and taken to Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood for additional care, Messina said.

The two men are described as thin white men, about 5-foot-10 to 6 feet tall, she said.

Anyone who can identify the men in the surveillance photos is asked to call Detective Ryan Quinn of the Toms River Police Department at 732-349-0150, ext. 1361.

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