Man Arrested After Demanding $80 From Branchburg Wendy's: Prosecutor

A 24-year-old Lebanon Township man was arrested on Friday for the attempted robbery of a Wendy’s fast food restaurant in Branchburg.

It was just after 4:30 p.m. When Branchburg police were dispatched to a reported robbery at the Wendy’s located on Route 202.

“Responding Officers met with store employees who related that a male, who was later identified as Philip Manfredo, approached and handed a threatening note to a cashier inside the restaurant,” according to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office. “The note stated that the suspect had a gun and that he was demanding $80.00.”

Manfredo fled the scene in a car parked in a nearby parking lot after police say he did not receive the money he demanded. He was described by witness as as wearing blue jeans and a dark colored sweatshirt with the letters “A E” on the front of the shirt.

Local and county detectives were able to obtain video footage from a surveillance camera that captured defendant Manfredo entering and leaving the restaurant as well as the vehicle that he was driving.

It was just before 8 p.m. When Tewksbury Police stopped Manfredo as he returned to his home driving the same vehicle in the video. After obtaining a search warrant, detectives searched the vehicle and seized a pair of blue jeans and a dark colored sweatshirt with the letters “A E”.

Manfredo has been charged with Robbery, 1st Degree and is lodged in the Somerset County Jail with bail set at $100,000.