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Forensic evidence recovered by the Bergen County Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Identification helped lead city detectives to Nazier T. Askew, a 24-year-old convicted felon whose DNA and fingerprints were already on file.
Askew struck just before 7 p.m. on separate nights barely a few blocks apart, Garfield Police Capt. Richard Uram said.
The first was Feb. 7, when he entered World-Wide Liquors on Van Winkle Avenue wearing all black clothing and a black mask and carrying a handgun, the captain said.
Askew “racked the slide, pointed [the gun] at the clerk, and demanded the money in the register,” Uram said. “The clerk handed him approximately $800 in cash and he fled the area on foot.”
Two nights later, Askew had on similar duds when he entered Tobacco Road on River Drive, pulled a handgun from his waistband and again demanded cash before fleeing with $300, the captain said.
No one was injured in the holdups, which were eventually linked to Askew thanks to the sheriff’s crime scene investigators, he said.
Paterson police eventually picked up Askew and notified their Garfield colleagues, Uram said.
Detective Sebastian Tyburski interviewed him, leading to charges against Askew that include armed robbery and weapons offenses, including being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
Askew was brought to the Bergen County Jail last Friday, April 29. He remained held there Saturday.
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