Brick man charged with Hooper Avenue store robbery

BRICK TOWNSHIP — Police recently charged a township man with the robbery of the El Charro Mundo Latino store on Hooper Avenue at knifepoint.

Robert Skrable, 27, Brick, was charged with robbery and possession of heroin. Additional charges for weapons offenses are pending, Capt. John E. Rein Jr. said.

Police received a call at 2:20 p.m. on March 12 from the store's owner that a female employee had been robbed at knifepoint, Rein said.

The employee reported that a heavyset white male had entered the store with a knife and demanded money. The employee gave the suspect $50 from a cash box. The suspect told her to lie down on the floor, then left the store, police said.

Patrolman Jeffrey Lempicki and his K- 9 partner Kaden began a track that led to the Brick Estates apartment complex on Hooper Avenue, where Skrable lives, Rein said.

Later that same day, Patrolman Jason Matthews saw a white male who matched Skrable's description in the Kennedy Mall Shopping Plaza across from the apartment complex. Matthews stopped Skrable and arrested him without incident.

His bail was set at $250,000. Skrable was also arrested on two unrelated outstanding contempt warrants from Toms River and Cranford. Detective Michael Bevacqua is investigating.