By: Najla Alexander
Authorities in Ocean County announced that on January 27, Nicholas Santiago, 39, of Barnegat, pled guilty to Robbery and Shoplifting before the Honorable Kimmarie Rahill, J.S.C., in connection with an incident that occurred in Stafford Township on May 27, 2024, along with multiple shoplifting incidents that likewise occurred in Stafford Township during May and June 2024.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer stated that at the time of his sentencing on March 28, 2025, the State will seek a term of five years in New Jersey State Prison (NJSP), subject to the terms of the No Early Release Act for the Robbery charge and four years NJSP for the Shoplifting charge. The sentences are to run concurrently.
According to OCPO officials, on May 27, 2024, at approximately 12:00 a.m., officers from the Stafford Township Police Department responded to a convenience store on Route 72 for a report of a robbery.
Stafford Township Police say that an investigation by responding officers revealed that a male suspect entered the store, brandished a knife at the cashier, and demanded money, cigarettes, and other items.
The store staff turned over cash, cigarettes, and other items to the suspect, who then fled the scene, Ocean County authorities said. A subsequent investigation by the Stafford Township Police Department and New Jersey State Police led to Santiago being identified as the individual responsible for the robbery of the convenience store in Stafford on May 27th.
Ocean County officials stated that Santiago was likewise identified as responsible for a series of shoplifting incidents at the Shoprite in Stafford throughout May and June 2024.
Santiago was further identified as a suspect in a robbery at another convenience store in New Gretna, Burlington County, on May 31, 2024, OCPO officials say.
Stafford Township Police said that on June 18, 2024, Santiago was taken into custody without incident at his residence in Barnegat by Officers from the Stafford Township Police Department and New Jersey State Police.
According to Ocean County officials, on that date, he was charged with the robbery in New Gretna on May 31, 2024, and transported to the Burlington County Jail; that charge remains pending in Burlington County Superior Court.
OCPO authorities said that on June 19, 2024, Santiago was charged with the robbery that occurred in Stafford Township on May 27, 2024, as well as the shoplifting offenses that occurred in Stafford during May and June 2024.
On June 22, 2024, he was transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he has been detained since then, Stafford Township Police said.