June 12, 2024
FREEHOLD – A local man has been convicted at trial of committing an armed robbery of a Neptune Township convenience store last year, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Wednesday.
A jury on Monday returned a guilty verdict against William A. Herndon, 41, of Neptune Township, following a trial before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Christie Bevacqua.
Shortly after 1 a.m. on Friday, March 31, 2023, members of the Neptune Township Police Department responded to the 7-Eleven on Route 35 South near the intersection at West Lake Avenue for a report of an alarm activation. The investigation subsequently revealed that while a store employee attempted to give change to a customer, the suspect suddenly brandished a sawed-off shotgun and reached over the counter in an attempt to take money out of the cash register. The man then fled the area in an unknown direction.
The investigation resulted in Herndon being identified as the suspect, and he was arrested without incident on Tuesday, April 18, 2023 and lodged in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution (MCCI).
At trial, the State presented physical evidence, witness testimony, and video evidence – including recovered video depicting Herndon sawing off the end of the shotgun he used in the robbery – in order to prove their case.
This case was prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutors Nicole Wallace and Jamie Fitzgerald. Herndon was represented by Anthony Aldorasi, Esq., with an office in Freehold.
Sentencing in the case has been scheduled for Friday, August 30 before Judge Bevacqua, at which time Herndon will face a term of up to 20 years in state prison, subject to New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (NERA), which mandates that 85 percent of the sentence be served prior to the possibility of parole.
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