Absecon man receives 60-year prison sentence for Buena home-invasion robbery

MAYS LANDING - An Atlantic County man has received a 60-year prison term for his role in a violent home-invasion robbery in 2020.

Michael Hayes, 46, of Absecon must serve more than 50 years before parole eligibility, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.

A jury in June convicted Hayes of 15 charges, including robbery, theft and weapons offenses, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

The jury heard evidence during a two-week trial that Hayes and an unknown accomplice conspired to rob a man, identified only as S.B., at his home in Buena.

The masked men confronted the victim at gunpoint as he was preparing to leave for work around 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 15, 2020, the statement said.

"They duct-taped him and forced him back inside his house and into his bedroom," according to the prosecutor's account.

Hayes held the victim at gunpoint and threatened to shoot him in the head, the account said.

It noted S.B. was robbed of about $1,000 and a gold necklace, but was able to free himself and run downstairs while Hayes' accomplice turned his attention to the victim's father and his wife.

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Hayes told his accomplice to shoot S.B., who was grazed in the head but kept running. The victim fled to a neighbor's home, where a 911 call was made.

The gunmen also fled, but Hayes' fingerprint was found on the discarded duct tape at the scene, according to the prosecutor's office.

It said Hayes received an extended term for the robbery conviction due to his status as a persistent offender.

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: jwalsh@cpsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Absecon man gets long prison term for home invasion