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Thomas Johnson, 30, of East Orange brandished a handgun while holding up two gas stations in Mahwah, another in Paramus and a 7-Eleven in Fair Lawn of several thousand dollars in less than half an hour late last month, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
Johnson did it again three nights later, robbing a 7-Eleven in Elmwood Park of $650 as two employees locked themselves in the bathroom and called police, the prosecutor said.
The spree began at a BP station on eastbound Route 4 at 10:43 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22.
The robber had just had the tank of his car filled when he pulled a handgun and robbed the attendant of $400, Paramus Police Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg said.
Less than five minutes later, police responding to a panic alarm at the 7-Eleven on Broadway (Route 4) in Fair Lawn discovered the convenience store had just been robbed of $2,500 by a man fitting the same description and pointing a black revolver, Fair Lawn Sgt. Brian Metzler said.
The robber continued on to Mahwah, entering a Valero station on northbound Route 17 at 11:05 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22.
He pointed a handgun at the staff at the register and demanded money, then held up the attendant, taking all the cash he had, Mahwah Police Chief Stephen Jaffe said at the time.
The bandit then hit a Sunoco station a half-mile up the road from the Valero -- just before the exit for Mountainview Avenue and Crossroads Boulevard – at 11:09 p.m., the chief said.
This time, he walked behind the counter of the convenience store, pointed a black handgun and demanded money before speeding off with an unspecified amount of cash, Jaffe said.
SEE: Gunman Robs Gas Stations, 7-Eleven In Paramus, Fair Lawn, Mahwah In Under 30 Minutes
It was around 10 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25, that the same robber held up a 7-Eleven on Broadway (Route 4) in Elmwood Park, authorities said.
He placed some items on the counter, then walked around it and brandished a black handgun while ordering two employees to open the register, Elmwood Park Police Chief Michael Foligno said.
They slipped by him and locked themselves in the bathroom while he snatched the cash -- along with two bottles of Gatorade -- and fled north on foot on Rosedale Avenue, the chief said.
Officers responding to the employees’ call got them and several patrons to safety, Foligno said.
They also set up a perimeter with help from their Fair Lawn colleagues and a Bergen County Sheriff's K-9 unit, the chief said.
SEE: Elmwood Park 7-Eleven Robbed At Gunpoint, Employees Call 911 From Locked Bathroom
Victims and witnesses in the holdups said the robber wore a black jacket, grey hooded sweatshirt and black pants and a gray cloth mask, along with gloves. His vehicle was described as a light-colored four-door Volkswagen sedan.
The Bergen County Sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Identification collected evidence while police recovered area surveillance videos in each robbery.
Johnson was arrested last Thursday, Feb. 2, following a warranted search of his East Orange home, Musella said.
He was charged with six counts of first-degree armed robbery, as well as aggravated assault with a firearm and various weapons offenses, the prosecutor said.
Johnson remained held in the Bergen County Jail on Tuesday, Jan. 7.
Musella thanked police from Elmwood Park, Fair Lawn, Paramus, Mahwah, Clifton, Woodbridge and Edison, as well as the Essex County prosecutor’s and sheriff’s offices.
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