Two Massachusetts Men Indicted on Gas Station Robbery Charges

Two Massachusetts men have been indicted by a Somerset County Grand Jury on first-degree armed robbery charges in connection with a holdup at the township's Lukoil gas station on the Friday after this past Thanksgiving, according to the Somerset County prosecutor. 

County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano confirmed that the Somerset County Grand Jury on Thursday had handed up indictments against Angel Luis Delvalle, 20, and Eric Garcia, 18.

However, Soriano said the New Bedford, Mass. men remain in Baltimore, where they  on Nov. 30 and charged with the armed robbery of the gas station on Madisonville Road, which authorities said took place at 7:30 a.m.

Delvalle and Garcia had been apprehended in Maryland about six hours following that incident in connection with another alleged robbery of a Subway restaurant in Baltimore, according to a statement released on Dec. 1 by the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office.

According to the December release, Bernards Township detectives were contacted by the Baltimore County Police Department on the Monday following the Lukoil holdup. Bernards police were notified of the arrest of five individuals, two adults and three juveniles  in connection with the alleged robbery of a Subway in Maryland, authorities said. Those arrested, including Garcia and Delvalle, were in a green Volkswagen Jetta with Massachusetts license plates, similar to the vehicle described by the attendant at the Lukoil station, the release said.

Soriano said on Friday that none of the other individuals who were with Delvalle and Garcia have been charged in connection with the Lukoil robbery.

According to authorities, detectives from Baltimore and Somerset counties identified Delvalle and Garcia as being the same two individuals who allegedly committed the Lukoil station robbery. A detective from the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office and a Bernards Township police detective traveled to Baltimore on the Tuesday following the Lukoil holdup, according to the December news release.

Bernards Township police had on Nov. 26 responded Friday at approximately 7:43 a.m. to the report of an armed robbery at the Lukoil gas station located on Route 202 and Madisonville Road in the township, authorities said. 

The gas station attendant told police that two Hispanic males had allegedly robbed him at gunpoint, taking an an undisclosed amount of money and a cellular phone, authorities said. The suspects allegedly had brandished a silver semi-automatic handgun, but no one was hurt, according to the release and township police.

Both suspects then reportedly fled on foot to a  vehicle waiting nearby, described as a green Volkswagen Jetta occupied by a white female and two other individuals, according to eyewitness accounts in police reporters.

Detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Squad and the Bernards Township Police Department conducted the investigation. A composite sketch of the gunman was completed by a Bridgewater Township detective and was distributed to law enforcement networks throughout the region.

A search warrant was obtained for the suspect's vehicle, the release said. The Lukoil gas station attendant's cellular telephone was allegedly found inside the car, according to the release from the prosecutor's office.

At that time, Soriano said Devalle and Garcia were each charged with first-degree armed robbery, with bail to be set. Both defendants remained in custody in Baltimore at that time, authorities said. 

The identification and apprehension of the defendants was attributed by New Jersey authorities to the Baltimore County detectives who ascertained that the suspects in the Baltimore robbery also were wanted in New Jersey, according to the Somerset County prosecutor's release.