Knife-Wielding Woman Admits Stealing Cash, Cigarettes From Berkeley Store

BERKELEY, NJ — A Brick woman has admitted to breaking into a Dollar General and then threatening a cashier at The Corner store at knifepoint demanding cash and cigarettes, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

Jessica Napolitano, 37, pleaded guilty to robbery and burglary in connection with the events that occurred in Berkeley Township in the early morning hours of Oct. 15, 2024, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. She faces a sentence of seven years in New Jersey State Prison for the robbery charge and three years for the burglary charge. These sentences are to run concurrently.

At about 4:20 a.m. Oct. 15, a robbery was reported at The Corner Store on Ocean Gate Drive, authorities said. A woman, later identified as Napolitano, had entered the store, brandished a knife at the cashier and demanded money and cigarettes, officials said.

Staff gave the cash and cigarettes to the woman, who fled the scene, authorities said.

Investigation found that just before this, a woman threw a rock through the front window of the Dollar General on Atlantic City Boulevard in an attempt to get cigarettes, officials said.

She was unsuccessful, and then left for The Corner Store, authorities said. The woman was identified as Napolitano and was found in Lakewood, where she was taken into custody, officials said.

Napolitano remains in Ocean County Jail on a separate matter.