Teen with knife enters Bon Vivant Liquors in Washington
By: Mark Moffa
WASHINGTON – Police still are searching this week for a knife-brandishing juvenile who tried to rob Bon Vivant Liquors last week.
Police were called at 4:17 p.m. Sept. 28 by the store’s owner after a juvenile entered the store demanding money. The liquor store is located on the corner of Route 130 North and Robbinsville-Allentown Road.
"He walked into the store and he demanded the clerk to open the cash register drawer while brandishing a knife and putting it toward her face," Washington Detective Vincent Estelle said Monday.
At that point, according to Detective Estelle, the clerk said "Are you sure you want to do this?"
The suspect responded, "Why?"
The clerk replied "Because the police station is next door."
The clerk then picked up the phone and called the owner, who was in the back of the store, and told him she was being held up and that he should call the police, Detective Estelle said.
The juvenile then ran east on Robbinsville-Allentown Road toward Allentown.
The clerk described the suspect to the police as a white male, approximately 16 years old. The boy had braces and short, dusty blond hair. He was about 5-foot-5 and between 120 and 130 pounds. He did not wear a mask of any kind, the clerk said; his face had acne and he had no facial hair.
He was wearing a light blue and white baseball jersey with three-quarter length sleeves and a bird emblem in the center of the chest, possibly a Toronto Blue Jays uniform, and baggy blue-jeans.
Police began searching for the suspect immediately, Detective Estelle said, but were unable to find him.
Authorities suspect the juvenile may live in the area, Detective Estelle said. Or, he added, he may have parked his car down the street or had someone pick him up.
"If anybody knows of anyone who fits that description or knows anything about it, they can contact us," Detective Estelle said. "With a little research we should be able to locate him."
The Police Department can be reached at 259-3900.
The suspect faces armed robbery charges and possibly attempted aggravated assault charges, Detective Estelle said.