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John N. Pineda, 23, told police he went to Villa Pizza on Anderson Avenue expecting to pay five bucks for two slices, Capt. Michael Martic said.
He got a bill for $6 instead.
Pineda told police that the manager, Fares Muhana, informed him that the price had changed from $2.50 a slice to $3 since last week, the captain said.
Pineda said he only had a five-dollar bill on him. Muhana said he was still a buck short.
Out of frustration, Pineda said, he tried to pull some cash from the tip jar on the counter, Martic said.
Muhana disputed that.
He told police that Pineda said he not only wasn't paying for the pizza but was also "taking the tip jar with him," the captain said.
Officers called to the scene found the manager tussling with the 6-foot-3-inch, 205-pound Pineda.
Muhana refused immediate medical attention for an injury to the side of his head.
Pineda, meanwhile, was sent to the Bergen County Jail on a second-degree strong-arm robbery charge. He was released by a judge a short time later.
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