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Superior Court Judge Edward Jerejian at first refused to approve the deal struck by prosecutors and the attorney for Dominican national Julian Pena Santana, 28, after he refused to implicate a co-defendant in the January 2013 assault and robbery.
Pena Santana admitted snatching the bag full of money from the manager as he headed to a deposit at ADPP Enterprises on Route 17 South but wouldn’t say that Luis Bernabel — currently serving a state prison sentence for another crime — punched the victim in the face and the chest.
“I don’t believe you,” the judge told him. “You’re trying to minimize your involvement, and I’m not accepting your plea unless you’re willing to tell the truth.”
The victim clearly described being punched, Jerejian noted.
“You were right there,” he told Pena Santana. “I don’t believe you didn’t see.
“If you’re not being truthful I’m not going to accept your plea, and you’ll go to trial because you don’t have a sufficient basis to plead to robbery,” the judge said.
With jail credits, he said, Pena Santana could be freed in as little as 14 months. A conviction after a trial could send him to prison for five to 10 years, the judge added.
After a brief conversation with his attorney, Pene Santana responded: “On that day, I grabbed the bag away from him and Luis hit the person in the chest.”
William Galusso (STORY / PHOTOS: CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter Mary K. Miraglia)
Pena Santana is the second of the Elizabeth, NJ quintet to take a plea. Two weeks ago, William Galusso (photo, left) admitted serving as the lookout, calling his accomplices after the manager left the Edison service station on his way to Mahwah.
The others ended up stiffing him for his money, Galusso said. Like Pena Santana, he agreed to testify against the other three: Bernabel, accused getaway driver Alexander Bergero and Fablian Filley, an employee at one of the stations.
ADPP Enterprises, founded in 1985, operates Valero service stations and convenience stores throughout New Jersey and distributes gas and diesel products to other stations.
Building surveillance cameras show the robbers heading into a second-floor bathroom, where they apparently lay in wait for their target, Mahwah Police Chief James Batelli said at the time.
Detective Kevin Hebert found video from other businesses that showed the bandits following the victim’s cash pickups along a 12-stop route in Elizabeth before he headed to Mahwah.
Hebert conducted several interviews before narrowing down a list of potential suspects, then worked with fellow Detectives Guido Bussinelli and Michael Grassi to zero in on the defendants, the chief said.
Separate arrests followed, beginning on Oct. 8, 2013.
Luis Bernabel, Alexander Bergero, Fabian Filloy (STORY / PHOTOS: CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter Mary K. Miraglia)
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