Robbery (Arrest) – At approximately 6:45 p.m. on Monday, November 30, 2015, officers from the Lacey Township Police Department responded to the Wawa located at 800 Lacey Road in Forked River after an employee activated a silent alarm from a gas kiosk. The gas attendant, a 16-year-old male, reported that he was approached by a male subject on foot who reportedly asked him to break a large bill. When the attendant opened the kiosk cash drawer, the unknown suspect entered the kiosk and demanded money stating that it was a robbery. The suspect, a white male estimated to be in his mid 20’s, fled on foot across the parking lot toward a wooded area after stealing approximately $400. A K-9 Unit from the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department assisted with a Bloodhound track that ended nearby. It appeared that, prior to police being notified, the suspect had departed from the area in a vehicle that was left nearby.
On December 16, 2015, Lacey Detective Brian Flynn and Toms River Detective Randy Petrick interviewed a 20-year-old male suspect thought to be connected with the robbery and several other crimes throughout Ocean County. As a result of the investigation, 20-year-old Troy D. Schwartz was ultimately charged with one count of robbery for the Lacey Wawa matter and served with the complaint-warrant at the Mercer County Correctional Facility where he is lodged on other warrants. Additional bail was set at $50,000 for the robbery charge. Troy D. Schwartz was known to live in the Little Egg Harbor area during his teen years and was last known to reside in Manchester but has no current address and had no known connection to Lacey Township prior to the robbery.
Several other agencies, including: Toms River, Manchester, and Little Egg Harbor are investigating the possible involvement of Troy D. Schwartz in additional crimes in their jurisdictions including a Wawa robbery in Little Egg Harbor which occurred several days after the robbery committed in Lacey. The type of robbery committed in Lacey is a second-degree crime with a possible term of incarceration set at 5-10 years.