Suspect arrested in brazen 30-minute crime spree across multiple Bergen County towns

A 30-year-old East Orange man has been charged with committing a daring string of armed robberies along North Jersey highways in a single night last month, all of which were called in to three different agencies within 30 minutes.

Thomas Johnson was arrested at his home on Thursday after authorities from Bergen County executed a search warrant of his home, believing him to be the suspect who robbed a 7-Eleven store on Broadway in Fair Lawn, a BP gas station on Route 4 in Paramus, and the Valero and Bolla gas stations on Route 17 in Mahwah, one after another in a whirlwind carnival of crime on Jan. 22.

In each incident, the robber was described as a male wearing a mask, gloves and hood, who brandished a handgun and sped away in a light-colored sedan, described in at least two incidents as a Volkswagen Passat.

Investigators suspected Johnson of committing a similar robbery at a 7-Eleven in Elmwood Park three-days later, although prosecutors did not say what evidence led them to accuse him of the crimes.

Johnson was remanded to the Bergen County Jail as he awaits a court hearing on six counts of armed robbery, weapons violations and one count of aggravated assault related to the allegation he had pointed a handgun at one of the victims.

Law enforcement has never made the exact timing of the serial robberies known.

Paramus dispatch places the first call to authorities at 10:43 p.m., and the first robbery in Mahwah, a Valero gas station near Route 287, was reported to police 21 minutes later.

However, Google shows those that two points are about 13 miles and an 18-minute drive apart, leaving little time to commit both thefts, let alone exit the highway to rob the 7-Eleven on Broadway in Fair Lawn, where local police responded at 10:46 p.m., during the interim.

“There was a gap of time” between the robbery occurring and when the cashier called the police, Metzler said of the thief's quick actions in Fair Lawn. But nevertheless, the speed and efficiency with which all four robberies were committed seemed remarkable.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen County NJ: Suspect arrested in multi-town crime spree