NJ Man Smacks Employee With Wrench, Elbows Cop In Gas Station Robbery, Police Say

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — A South Jersey man has been arrested after assaulting a Passaic County gas station employee before robbing the establishment and one of its customers, according to police.

Leonard McNeill, 48, of Glassboro, was arrested on Nov. 11 after robbing Clifton’s Jersey Gas fueling station and running from police, officials recently said.

On Nov. 11, around 11:30 p.m., police responded to the Jersey Gas at the intersection of Lakeview Ave and Crooks Ave on a report of an armed robbery.

Police said that McNeill brandished “an object that appeared to be a firearm” and smacked a gas station attendant in the face with it. He then took around $200 from the employee as well as a customer’s cell phone, according to officials.

Police said McNeill then hopped in a 2024 Chevy Malibu and drove off. Chasing McNeil in a separate car was the owner of the stolen cell phone, officials added.

Authorities were able to catch up with McNeill on Hobart Street in Passaic, where he jumped out of the car and ran into nearby woods, police said.

Officers were able to catch up with him quickly, and as they arrested him, McNeill elbowed one of them in the face. The same police officer also had cuts on his hand and wrist, which he was treated for.

Police found the cash from the robbery and the cell phone in McNeill’s possession, they said. They also found a wrench wrapped in cloth, suspected to be the “object fashioned as a firearm,” and drug paraphernalia in his car, according to officials.

McNeill is charged with robbery, aggravated assault, aggravated assault on an officer resisting arrest by Flight, and possession of drug paraphernalia, as well as weapons charges.

EMS responders treated the gas station attendant for injuries to his face, but he declined hospitalization.

McNeill was taken to the Passaic County Sheriff's Office Corrections Hub to await court proceedings.