EDISON – In cooperation with Highland Park Police, Edison police officers arrested a 40-year-old township resident who allegedly robbed four gas stations in the two municipalities.
Carlos M. Lopez has been charged with armed robbery and weapons offenses and is currently being held at the Middlesex County Adult Correctional Center on $150,000 bail.
Lead Detective John Sachau, as well as other detectives of the Highland Park Police Department, developed a lead which identified Lopez as a suspect in an armed robbery of a Lukoil Gas Station on Route 27 in Highland Park on Jan. 27.
At 7 a.m. on Jan. 31, Edison detectives and police officers served the arrest warrant on Lopez at an address on Edmund Street in Edison. Lopez was taken into custody without incident.
As the result of an investigation by Edison detectives Jeff Tierney and Frank Varga, Lopez was charged with three additional gas station robberies in Edison: Raceway Gas Station, Route 1 on Dec. 17, 2012; Fuel One Gas Station, Route 1 on Dec. 29, 2012 and Delta Gas Station on Route 27 on Jan. 27, 2013.
Investigators believe that Lopez used an imitation firearm during each of the robberies that were committed.
Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan said, “I commend the hard work and diligence by all the detectives involved from both police departments in making this apprehension.”
The charges against Lopez are merely accusations; he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
