Jersey City, NJ cops charge man with robbing deli 4 times 11 days

JERSEY CITY — The fourth time was the charm for capturing a man who was caught on video allegedly robbing the same deli multiple times, police said.

Jersey City police said Augie Lopez, 77, the owner of Augie's Deli Grocery on Old Bergen Road, did not report the first robbery.

During that robbery on Jan. 10 he was pushed to the ground and $10 worth of cigars were stolen.

Lopez told police the same man returned to the store on Jan. 15 and pushed him to the ground again after stealing $20 in cash.

The next day police said a robber returned to the store when a 62-year-old woman was working the register and stole $180 from a cabinet behind the register.

Surveillance video posted by News 12 New Jersey shows the man climbing over the counter and punching the woman as she falls to the ground. He then climbs back over the counter and runs towards the door.

The woman told police she recognized him as the same man from the earlier robberies.

Fourth and final try

The man tried for a fourth robbery on Friday but after climbing over the counter yet again faced an armed off-duty police officer.

Police said Travis Nealey, 34, made a run for it and was arrested after a short pursuit. He was charged with four counts of strong-armed robbery and one count of resisting arrest.

Nealey was taken to the Jersey City Medical Center as he appeared to be under the influence of drugs, police said.

Lopez told News 12 New Jersey that he doesn't know Nealey or why he targeted his  business that's been in the same spot for 32 years.

According to State Police crime stats for January through March 2021, there were 20 robberies with 17 arrests and 32 burglaries and 17 arrests in Jersey City.

For all of 2020, the last complete year for which crime data is available, there were 340 robberies with 119 arrests and 500 burglaries with 70 arrests.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

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