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The 62-year-old victim, who owns a jewelry store on Bergenline Avenue in Union City, was kept for observation overnight at Hackensack University Medical Center.
This morning, he was at Lyndhurst police headquarters — a bandaged bump on his nose, among other injuries — providing a more detailed account.
Detectives were “following up some very solid leads,” Detective Capt. John Valente told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.
The man arrived home from work with his wife roughly 10 minutes before 8 o’clock last night when the trio, wearing masks, rushed them in their attached garage, Valente said.
One of them bound the 54-year-old woman with zip ties and brought her into the house while the other two pistol-whipped her husband and held him at gunpoint, the captain said. They then ransacked the Lake Avenue home, taking “some high-end watches worth several thousand dollars each,” he said.
While one bandit stayed with the woman, holding a shotgun, the other two forced the storeowner into his car. They then drove west and north.
A 911 call brought Lyndhurst police to the home.
At that point, the man with the shotgun bolted out the back, leaving the shotgun behind, Valente said. He also discarded a jacket and hat while fleeing through neighborhood backyards, the captain said.
A K9 team later searched the area, with no luck, he said.
Out front was a car that had been reported stolen Saturday out of Jersey City. Inside was another shotgun, Valente told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. Police were obtaining a warrant to search the vehicle, he said.
The storeowner said one of the men pointed a handgun at him as they drove, first on Route 3, then Route 21, and then on Ackerman Avenue in Clifton.
There they inexplicably abandoned him in an industrial park, Valente said (The car was later found in Passaic).
The victim walked to the street and flagged down a Garfield patrol officer, the captain said.
Lyndhurst officers, along with Bergen County police, sheriff’s officers and K9 teams descended on Lake Avenue near Delafield Avenue, interviewing victims and witnesses and scouring the house and the area for clues, after the initial call. A second sweep of the house was done around midnight to be sure it was safe.
A police cruiser remained outside the house today.
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