SHARE

Ramsey Police Nab Suspected Gunman In Upper Saddle River Gas Station Holdup

UPPER SADDLE RIVER, N.J. -- Ramsey police captured a Mahwah man who took $560 at gunpoint from a Route 17 gas station Thursday night in Upper Saddle River -- and was suspected in similar but aborted attempts in Lodi and Ramsey, authorities told Daily Voice.

Frank Joseph Diaz

Frank Joseph Diaz

Photo Credit: MUGSHOT: Courtesy UPPER SADDLE RIVER PD

Frank Joseph Diaz, 22, pointed a BB gun that resembled a Glock semi-automatic handgun at the Valero station attendant around 10:40 p.m. Thursday, Upper Saddle River Detective Lt. Edward Kane said.

Ramsey Sgt. Mike Parise and Officer Casey Hines were on patrol when they spotted the fleeing 5-foot-6-inch, 165-pound Diaz as he tried to get to a car parked nearby, Kane said Friday morning.

Police believe he tried but failed to also rob gas stations in Lodi and Ramsey less than three hours earlier, the lieutenant told Daily Voice.

The robber in Lodi "brandished a handgun and demanded money from the attendant" at the Delta station on eastbound Route 46 around 9:20 p.m., Lodi Police Lt. Robert Salerno told Daily Voice.

"When the attendant went to gather the money at the booth outside, [the robber] fled with no proceeds," Salerno said.

Police searched the area with negative results, he said.

Diaz was being held without bail in the Bergen County Jail pending a detention hearing in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack on various robbery and weapons counts, as well as resisting arrest and threatening Ramsey law enforcement officers.

to follow Daily Voice Ridgewood and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE