Ocean County Man Pleads Guilty to Charges of Robbery and Shoplifting
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January 30, 2025Ocean County Man Pleads Guilty to Charges of Robbery and Shoplifting
Ocean County Man Pleads Guilty to Charges of
Robbery and Shoplifting
The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced on January 27, 2025, that Nicholas Santiago, 39, of Barnegat, pled guilty to robbery and shoplifting in connection with an incident that occurred in Stafford Township on May 27, 2024.
He is also guilty of multiple shoplifting incidents that occurred in Stafford Township in May and June 2024.
At his sentencing on March 28, 2025, the State will seek a term of five years in New Jersey State Prison (NJSP) for the Robbery charge, subject to the terms of the No Early Release Act, and four years in NJSP for the Shoplifting charge. The sentences should run concurrently.
On May 27, 2024, at approximately 12 am, Officers from the Stafford Township Police Department responded to a convenience store on Route 72 for a report of a robbery.
An investigation by responding Officers revealed that a male suspect entered the store, brandished a knife at the cashier, and demanded money, cigarettes and other items. The store staff turned over cash, cigarettes, and other items to the suspect who then fled the scene.
A subsequent investigation by the Stafford Township Police Department and New Jersey State Police led to Santiago being identified as the individual responsible for the robbery of the convenience store in Stafford on May 27th.
Santiago was likewise identified as the individual responsible for a series of shoplifting incidents that occurred at the Shoprite in Stafford throughout May and June 2024.
Santiago was further identified as a suspect in a robbery that occurred at another convenience store located in New Gretna, Burlington County, on May 31, 2024.
On June 18, 2024, Santiago was taken into custody without incident at his residence in Barnegat by Officers from the Stafford Township Police Department and New Jersey State Police.
On that date, he was charged with the robbery that occurred in New Gretna on May 31, 2024, and transported to the Burlington County Jail; that charge remains pending in Burlington County Superior Court.
On June 19, 2024, Santiago was charged with the robbery that occurred in Stafford Township on May 27, 2024, as well as the shoplifting offenses which occurred in Stafford during May and June 2024. On June 22, 2024, he was transported to the Ocean County Jail where he has been detained since that date.
