Wayne, NJ – Two Paterson men who Wayne police said were among a group of armed robbers who smashed display cases and fled with an undisclosed amount of merchandise from Massola Jewelers three days ago are in custody, Detective Capt. Dan Daly confirmed.
Ex-con Terrance D. Drakeford, 33, and one of his fellow robbers, Wyzier Peterson, 28, were involved in a crash while being pursued by a police officer in Haledon moments after the 7:25 p.m. smash-and-grab robbery on Tuesday (June 16th), Daly told The DeMarco Report.
Drakeford was injured and tried to run after their Chevy Malibu crashed on West Broadway, the captain said this morning (Friday).
He was quickly captured by Haledon and Paterson police, Daly said.
Paterson police arrested Peterson near his home yesterday, the captain said.
Both men are both charged with a trio of first-degree counts — two for robbery and one for conspiracy — as well as weapons offenses, burglary, theft, criminal mischief, receiving a stolen vehicle and possession of burglary tools.
Meanwhile, the search for as many as three other robbers continued.
Drakeford — a former outreach worker for the Paterson Healing Collective anti-violence group — got five years in federal prison after he was arrested and later pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy and distribution charges in the city’s notorious 4th Ward.
He remained in federal custody from then until his release three months ago, federal corrections records show.
Paterson police arrested Drakeford for simple assault just two weeks ago, but he was immediately released under New Jersey’s bail reform law, The DeMarco Report has learned.
It was one of a number of local police arrests of Drakeford over the past decade or so on charges that have included illegal drug possession, obstruction, resisting arrest and receiving stolen property.
Records show Peterson was arrested for aggravated assault in Monroe Township (Middlesex County) in 2015 and on drug-related counts in Paterson between early 2019 and this past May.
Family-owned Massola Jewelers has sold, repaired and customized jewelry in Wayne for more than four decades.
Store owner George Massola said five robbers smashed their way in through the front door of his business and swarmed through the showroom, smashing display cases and grabbing whatever they could.
A witness on the street apparently got photos of the robbers and a stolen Hyundai Tucson that police said they used in addition to the Malibu.
The Tucson sped east on Preakness Avenue and out of sight, investigators said. A Haledon officer stopped the Malibu on West Broadway, Daly said. He noticed that Drakeford was bleeding and Paterson tried to hide his face with his arm, the captain said.
“Within moments the Malibu fled the stop,” Daly said. The Haledon officer found it crashed and abandoned a few blocks away, he said. Inside it were sledgehammers, jewelry, gloves and broken glass, the captain said. The stolen Tucson was found parked and unoccupied a few blocks away, he said. Drakeford (mugshot left) and Peterson (right) remain held in Bergen County’s jail, The duo — both of whom are listed as U.S.-born American citizens — aren’t expected to be released anytime soon given the gravity of the crimes.
Article provided by Jerry DeMarco @ Tapinto.net, click HERE to view article.