Deli robber still at-large
By elaine van develde
Staff Writer

HAZLET — Police are wondering why anyone, or one man in one particular instance, would risk doing time for $125.

That’s the situation they’ve found themselves confronted with in light of a burglary at a Laurel Avenue delicatessen in the early morning hours of Nov. 30.

A white man with a light olive complexion, described as being 25 to 30 years of age, standing 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 130 pounds, made his way into the Sunshine Deli near the Helfrich bus station.

Aside from the general description given, the burglar reportedly had a sore just above his lip on the right side of his face.

According to Detective Capt. Robert Mulligan, a lone employee had just opened the store and was brewing coffee at about 5:40 a.m. when the man, who was wearing an Army fatigue jacket and a Mets baseball hat, walked near the dairy case of the store, and with his hand in his pocket, as if having a gun, demanded that the employee open the register and give him all the money in it.

The employee, thinking there could very well be a gun in the man’s pocket, handed over a total of $125, described as "start-up money."

The man immediately took the money and fled the scene on foot, Mulligan said. Responding to the scene were patrolman Scott Randolf and Sgt. David Brett.

The two called a Holmdel officer to the scene to assist with his tracking dog.

The perpetrator didn’t touch much of anything, Mulligan said, making it difficult for the dog to do enough tracking to locate him. As a result, the dog lost his scent on Laurel Avenue at "the wood line in the rear of the Helfrich bus lot," Mulligan said.

Detective Sgt. Howard Nuss and Mulligan are conducting the follow-up investigation.