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Shajee Jackson, 30, wasn’t difficult to identify following the aborted holdup at the Essex Street eatery at 12:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13. Calling him "known to police" would be an understatement.
The 28-year-old victim told police Jackson followed him into the bathroom, then pulled a large knife, demanded money and threatened to stab him, the victim told police.
The victim refused and his assailant fled empty-handed, said Capt. Michael Antista, the officer in charge of the department.
Lt. John Knapp and Officer Frankie Garrett of the department’s Emergency Services Unit, along with Detective Pete Seretis, quickly captured Jackson two blocks or so away, Antista said.
He was still carrying the knife, the captain said.
Jackson was charged with robbery, making terroristic threats and multiple weapons offenses. He remained held Tuesday in the Bergen County Jail.
Jackson has an extensive criminal record dating back more than a decade. It includes convictions for crimes out of various towns, including Hackensack, East Rutherford and Lodi, several of which he's served time in the Bergen County Jail.
The majority of arrests have been for lesser offenses that include drug possession, shoplifting, criminal mischief and probation violations. Antista, it turns out, was involved in capturing Jackson following at least two of the incidents.
Jackson does have a robbery rap on his record out of Hackensack in November 2012, however It kept him behind bars for six months, records show.
Among the other incidents:
- A July 2012 arrest for burglary, theft and criminal mischief in Hackensack that kept Jackson behind bars for a month;
- An August 2012 criminal mischief arrest in Lodi a week after his release, which sent Jackson back to the Bergen County Jail for two months in August 2012;
- An arrest for burglary, theft and drugs in Hackensack in May 2013 (SEE: Hackensack detective cracks bodega burglary, cash register tossed from window). Jackson spent three weeks in the county lockup before he was released, records show);
- A nine-month sentence served from September 2014 to June 2015 after an arrest in Lodi for drugs, shoplifting and a probation violation, records show;
- An arrest for theft, also out of Lodi, with a probation violation following it in December 2015 (Jackson was in jail for two weeks);
- A theft arrest out of Lodi in March 2019; he was released three days later, records show;
- Car burglary, theft and criminal mischief charges out of Hackensack in September 2021 (SEE: Hackensack Detectives Nab Repeat Offender In $4,500 Restaurant, Deli Burglaries) Jackson was released within 24 hours, records show;
- A shoplifting arrest out of East Rutherford in October 2022, which saw Jackson released from jail two days later.
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