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The victim was pumping air into the front passenger tire on Dec. 9, 2023 when the pair arrived in a 2015 Lexus that had been stolen from outside a Wawa on Route 34 in Wall Township.
Arraqeeb Williams-Cook, 23, of East Orange, got into the driver's seat of the victim's car, then pulled a gun, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said.
As the victim ran into the restaurant to call for help, ex-con Washir Singletary, 30, of Newark took the wheel of that car and sped off, the U.S. attorney said.Williams-Cook got back into the Lexus and tried to follow him, but responding Newark police officers stopped him before he could get out of the lot, Sellinger said.
Singletary eventually doubled back and retrieved the stolen Lexus, then abandoned it on a Newark street, Sellinger said.
He was carrying a Ruger/Strum revolver when city police busted him a short time later, he said.
A U.S. District Court magistrate judge in Newark ordered both men held until trial on carjacking and conspiracy charges. Singletary is also charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI and members of the Newark City Police Department with the investigation leading to the charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ingrid Eicher of hisGeneral Crimes Unit in Newark is handling the case for the government.
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