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MONROE: Robbery suspect still at large

By Amy Batista, Special Writer
   MONROE — Police still are actively looking for a man who allegedly robbed a jewelry store Monday morning.
   According to a police press release Tuesday, the suspect entered the Monroe Jewelers store in the Concordia Shopping Center sometime between 9 and 11 a.m., then walked out of the store with more than $3,000 worth of jewelry.
   When the store manager attempted to stop the alleged thief, she was pushed aside, police said.
   The suspect then fled the scene by foot into a wooded area on Perrineville Road across the street from the BP gas station, according to police.
   The man, described by police as being black, between 5-foot 7-inches and 5-foot 9-inches tall with a stocky build and short, black hair, clean shaven, was wearing tan cargo shorts and a blue or black polo shirt with white stripes, according to police.
   Monroe Fire District 2 assisted the police in their search with its aerial platform, which was raised up over Prospect Plains Road to look over the fields and toward the primary woods being searched.
   A New Jersey State Police helicopter and K-9 unit was also on scene, according to New Jersey State Trooper Christopher Kay, to try and locate the suspect Monday afternoon, but those efforts were not successful.
   ”She really risked her safety,” said an employee at the Monroe Jewelers, who wished to remain anonymous, in regard to the store manager who chased after the suspect.
   The manager declined to comment on the incident.
   ”It’s terrible for a small business,” said Andrea Berger, of Monroe.
   Ms. Berger said her parents were in the jewelry business and recalled a time she lived through a robbery and the terror she went through because of it.
   ”It was frightening,” Ms. Berger said. “They had Uzis (guns). We gave them everything, but they started smashing the counters, and after that, my parents put in a double lock door. We had to be buzzed in. I think that’s what (the situation is) coming down to.”
   ”It’s the economy,” said neighbor Tim Hogan, of Monroe.
   He said police officers were “all over” his adjacent property Monday afternoon.
   Mr. Hogan said he believes a lot of robberies tie into rental properties in the area and the 8 percent unemployment rate in the nation and state.
   Many people working in the businesses in the plaza said they saw a detective go into Monroe Jewelers around 12:30 p.m., and that is when they heard a robbery took place, but no one saw anything happen during the actual incident.
   Business owner Raj Rangam, of Monroe Wine & Spirits, said he saw police outside the jewelry store several times in the past week, but didn’t know if it was related to anything.
   He also said he did not see what happened Monday even though his business was right next door.
   ”People came and told me what had happened,” Mr. Rangam said. “I saw cops a couple of days back. They were in front of my store. They were always there three or four days before.”
   Other workers were unsettled by the alleged robbery.
   ”It’s a little scary because I work by myself,” said Stephanie Pecorino, of Monroe, who works at a card store just a few stores away.
   Anyone with any information on this incident is asked to call Monroe Township Police at 732-521-0222.