Sharp
Police Work Foils Credit Union Robbery
Would-be robbers arrested with weapons, duct tape &
radios
New Providence Township, Union County - At approximately
8:40 a.m. this morning, State Troopers from the Street Gang
and T.E.A.M.S. Units, working with New Providence Police Department
and the Union County Prosecutor's Office arrested four men
who were poised to rob the Affinity Federal Credit Union located
at 598 Central Avenue, New Providence.
The would-be robbers were arrested during a "high-risk stop"
by members of the State Police T.E.A.M.S. (Technical Emergency
And Mission Specialists) Unit and the Union County U-Cert
team in the parking lot of the A&P shopping center in which
the credit union is located. Two vehicles were involved; a
silver Acura with one lookout and a black Acura with the other
three men. Semi-automatic handguns, portable radios, gloves
and duct tape were recovered from the vehicles. The four north
Jersey men arrested were:
Thomas L. Mial, 35, Union Township
Patrick Bacon, 38, Newark
William Roundtree, 25, Union Township
Anthony Supreme, 42, East Orange
"Through our Gangs, Guns and Drugs Initiative, we are continuing
to focus considerable law enforcement effort on street gangs
that are responsible for violence and drug dealing in our
communities," said Attorney General Peter C. Harvey. "We were
able to apprehend these suspects before they entered the bank
as a result of the outstanding investigative work of the State
Police Street Gang Bureau. I want to commend the Street Gang
Bureau and the State Police T.E.A.M.S. Unit for these arrests.
I also want to thank the New Providence Police Department,
the Union County Prosecutor's Office, the Union County U-Cert
Team and the Union County/Essex County Auto Theft Task Force."
Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State
Police, congratulated all who took part in the operation.
"I'm very proud of the intelligence-based policing that brought
about this important arrest. There is no better way for Captain
Jack Repsha, head of the Street Gang Unit, to end his great
career with the State Police," said Colonel Fuentes.
Colonel Fuentes also stressed that this a joint investigation
worked with the Providence Township Police Department and
Union County Prosecutor's Office. "The cooperation and help
offered by our law enforcement partners shows that just as
crime knows no boundaries, law enforcement has no limits when
we work together."
Some initial information including tattoos on the subjects
has lead detectives to believe that one or more of the arrested
men may be affiliated with the Bloods street gang. The Bloods
are one of the larger and more violent street gangs operating
in New Jersey.
The investigation is still ongoing and it is unknown whether
these individuals have any connections with previous crimes,
individually, or as a group.
The two vehicles used in the robbery attempt were impounded
and taken to the Providence Township Police Department pending
complete examination for purposes of evidence retrieval. As
of the writing of this release, bail has not yet been set
for the subjects.
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