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An indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Newark accuses Tyrone Crutchfield-Davis, 27, of Linden of plotting the Dec. 15, 2019 holdup on North Avenue at Exit 137 in Cranford with three associates.
Authorities had previously identified the other three men -- Wiggins Cadet, 24, and Khalil Brown, 23, of Roselle, and Zyquan McCray, 23, of Linden.
It turns out Crutchfield-Davis -- a former standout high school quarterback with a criminal record -- was in on it, federal authorities charged.
Cadet held a gun on him and another attendant as he and McCray robbed the station while wearing masks, court papers on file in U.S. District Court say.
Brown drove the getaway car, according to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.
A little over a month later, a Union County SWAT team assisted the county prosecutor's office and police from Cranford and Linden in executing search warrants at several locations. The evidence recovered included the gun used in the holdup, authorities said at the time.
Crutchfield-Davis, Cade, Brown and McCray are all charged with robbery and conspiracy, Sellinger said Tuesday.
Cadet, McCray, and Crutchfield-Davis are also charged with using a gun during a violent crime and conspiring to do so, the U.S. attorney said.
Sellinger credited special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Cranford Police Department and the Union County Prosecutor’s Office with the investigation leading to the charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Camila A. Garces of his General Crimes Unit in Newark is handling the case for the government.
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