There was an attempted armed robbery at the Fuel Stop gas station at the corner of Pompton and Linden avenues on Wednesday night that resulted in a police search across several streets on the eastern side of Verona.
According to Verona Police Capt. Mitchell Stern, at 10:45 p.m. last night, two black males, both armed with handguns, approached the manager of the gas station. One of the suspects grabbed the attendant’s arm but the person broke free and suffered a minor injury from a fall to the ground.
The suspects did not get any cash from the gas station and fled on foot. Police from Cedar Grove joined the VPD in a search but the suspects were not apprehended. According to Stern, officers checked one car on Montclair Avenue, but its driver was not one of the suspects.
Stern stays the investigation into the incident is continuing. “We are looking at video,” Stern said. Police think the suspects may have arrived by car, but they do not have a description of the vehicle or license plates. If you have information that can help the police in this investigation, you are asked to call Det. Sgt. Banta at 973-239-5000.
Why were we NOT notified by Nixle. Since they were on foot it stands to reason they would be trying doors all over town in hopes of hiding or getting a car. Isn’t that what NIXLE is for?
Interesting question, Les. Think we need to make another call to the police.
Awesome police work! Two police departments worth of officers and no arrests,not to mention no notice or alarm for residents. $9k a year in taxes for what?
Nixel Was my first thought as well. The suspects were on foot and residents could be in the look out for strange activity, tripped lighting, as it’s pretty easy for suspects to slip from one backyard to another.
also, it was before midnight so if residents were alerted they could be more cautious and know to stay inside (since they were armed) and not take out their garbage or walk their dogs, not to mention alerting teenage children in the home to not walk outside
It also Sounded like a lot more departments involved than just Verona and CG.
Shame on anyone criticizing the police for their actions in response to this incident. Does anyone honestly believe that criminals are stupid enough to commit a crime and have no way out? be realistic, they had another individual in a vehicle on a side street that they got into and left the scene before the police were even called. No vehicle description, nothing to look for. Also do you need a nixile alert to ensure your house doors and cars are locked? maybe you should reevaluate yourselves before criticizing the police. Also the nixile needs to be created and sent out by a member of the police department. I rather they respond to the scene and aid in the search and investigation then send out a feel good text message that a good percent of the town would probably have missed due to it being late when it occurred.
Thanks Anthony, for putting things in perspective.
With all due respect, I don’t think anyone was criticizing the police. I believe that they were merely voicing their concern about not being informed. The police were running through my backyard that night looking for suspects. Don’t you think it would have been wise to inform residents not only that there might have been a *possible* threat (after all there’s no guarantee that the suspects weren’t on the loose)but also to let people know why the police were scouring the neighborhood. Nixle was created to keep the public informed. If it can be used to let me know that there are broken water pipes, surely it could also be used inform me when the police are literally beating the bushes at midnight in my backyard. It could have saved people from panic and put them at ease by letting them know that the police were doing their job. Just sayin’….