Two men made off with $250 from the Amoco station Monday morning.
By: Brian Shappell
South Brunswick was victimized by gun-toting robbers for the third time this summer when a Route 1 gas station was robbed during Monday’s early morning hours.
Two males, one with a handgun, approached an attendant at the Amoco station on Route 1 at 12:10 a.m. Monday demanding money. The attendant gave the masked men $250 before they fled by foot on the northbound side of Route 1, police said.
The robbers were described as males, between 5 feet 8 inches and 6 feet tall and in their early 20s, according to police. They were wearing T-shirts, jeans and sneakers.
Public Information Officer Jim Ryan said, based on the nature of this robbery, it may not be linked to robberies in the Royal Oaks apartment development last week and in June.
"We do not necessarily believe that they’re connected yet," Patrol Officer Ryan said. "This one was on foot and was at an established business as opposed to the others."
However, Officer Ryan did say the two previous Royal Oaks robberies probably are linked.
"The investigators believe those incidents are definitely connected," Officer Ryan said.
On Sept. 3, a 40-year-old resident of Royal Oaks was robbed at gunpoint on Sugar Maple Court. As he was leaving his parked car, two masked assailants approached him and told him to get on his knees.
One of the men was brandishing a handgun. The armed men stole $40 in cash before entering a car driven by the third suspect, police said.
Officer Ryan said definitive details of the incident were hard to come by because the victim was so shaken in the aftermath.
In June, a 34-year-old man was robbed at gunpoint on Shadow Oaks Court. In that incident, the victim had left his home to get something from his car when he was approached by three men who told him to "give us what you got," according to police. The thieves took less than $25 in cash from the victim. The men fled the scene in a dark, four-door car, possibly a Mazda, police said. The victim described the robbers, who were wearing white bandannas over their faces, as thin males with short hair.
Officer Ryan said police are hopeful witnesses will step forward with information on the robberies that will help the investigation.
Anyone with information regarding the incidents should contact Detective James Kinard at (732) 329-4000 ext. 485.

