Samuel Matias-Cruz, 35, is the last of the four defendants in the December 2012 Turnpike robbery to plead guilty.
TRENTON -- A Trenton man has pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to rob four Trenton-area businesses in 2012 and 2013, including the armed hold-up of the Sunoco gasoline station at the Woodrow Wilson Service Area on the New Jersey Turnpike in Hamilton.
Samuel Matias-Cruz, 35, is the last of the four defendants in the December 2012 Turnpike robbery to plead guilty.
Samuel Matias-Cruz, 2013 file photo. Matias-Cruz and Arturo DeLaCruz, 37, who initially were charged with committing the Turnpike robbery with two others in early 2013, were both later charged federally in 2014 with conspiring to commit four robberies in all.
In addition to the Turnpike crime, Matias-Cruz and DeLaCruz were charged with conspiring to rob the Osiris Travel Agency in 2012, the Rapido Flores Multiservices Agency in 2013, as well as the 2012 hold-up of the Sabor Latino Bar. The three businesses are all in Trenton.
Matias-Cruz faces up to 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced. He pleaded guilty last week in U.S. District Court in Trenton. He is currently in federal custody in Monmouth County.
DeLaCruz pleaded guilty to conspiracy in federal court in November 2014 and was sentenced in April to nine years in prison. He is currently incarcerated at the Fort Dix federal prison.
Federal court papers, testimony and accounts from law enforcement show the hold-ups were completed at gunpoint and often violent.
In September 2012, Matias-Cruz admitted in court, he robbed the Osiris travel agency on Chambers Street in Trenton at gunpoint of $900, along with a con-conspirator.
In December 2012, Matias-Cruz and DeLaCruz robbed the Sabor bar on Ashmore Avenue in Trenton at gunpoint, making off with $12,000 cash from the bar's register. A Trenton man, Pedro Perez, was the getaway driver.
Federal authorities have said Matias-Cruz and DeLaCruz entered bar brandishing handguns and physically restrained five people by tying their hands with plastic zip ties.
Perez, also later charged with the Turnpike robbery, pleaded guilty in federal court in June 2014 to conspiracy for being involved in the Turnpike and Sabor crimes.
http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2013/04/four_trenton_men_charged_with.html
On Dec. 29, 2012, the Sunoco station at the Turnpike's Wood Wilson rest area was robbed of $26,000 cash.
In court, Matias-Cruz admitted to holding up the station while brandishing a gun and wearing clothing which resembled the uniforms worn by Sunoco employees.
During the hold-up, Matias-Cruz and Perez physically assaulted and restrained at least one Sunoco employee. DeLaCruz planned the robbery with Matias-Cruz.
The New Jersey State Police, which investigated the Turnpike robbery, alleged in 2013 that Byron Rodas, then 20, who shared a Trenton apartment with Perez, aided the robbery.
Rodas, who was working as an attendant at the station, allegedly provided information to Perez and Matias-Cruz about the station's layout and walked away from the station during the hold-up, the state police said.
Rodas pleaded guilty in April 2014 in federal court to conspiracy for his role in the Turnpike robbery.
And in March 2013, Matias-Cruz and Felix M. Lugo, 41, robbed the Rapido agency on Hamilton Avenue of about $6,000. A victim was assaulted and restrained during the stick-up and DeLaCruz allegedly drove the getaway car, federal officials have said.
Lugo, formerly of Trenton, pleaded guilty in June 2014 to conspiracy to commit the Rapido robbery and is currently serving a federal prison sentence in Florida, records show.
When apprehended in April 2013, in Pleasantville, Atlantic County, Matias-Cruz was wanted for murder in Puerto Rico, the state police said at the time. The status of that case was unknown Tuesday.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.
