Three New Jersey men are in police custody facing charges filed by Sunbury Police that alleged they used a handgun in a robbery last month in Pennsylvania.
According to Sunbury Police Sgt. Travis Bremigen, the incident occurred on Jan. 31 at 4:57 a.m. in the small community, located in central Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna Valley, about 110 miles west of Camden, Jew Jersey.
Bremigen said police were dispatched to a home on Fort Augusta Avenue after a concerned citizen called police to report “suspicious activity in the area” after the individual encountered three men attempting to break into a garage and take an ATV.
When the citizen approached the three suspects, one of the men pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the resident, who then backed away from the scene.
The thieves loaded the ATV and left the area, and a short time later, officers received a call from a business in the town reporting that a van was stolen from their lot.
Officers who reviewed surveillance video were able to see what appeared to be the same three men getting into the van and leaving the lot, along with a second vehicle that they had arrived in around 4:30 a.m.
Bremigen said the ATV was eventually located in Camden, New Jersey, and recovered with the assistance of the county police force and Pennsylvania State Police.
The three suspects were identified and taken into custody Monday morning but the van that was allegedly stolen has not been recovered.
Bremigen said police are not releasing the names at this time, but did confirm, all three men are from New Jersey.
Bremigen did not say why the men were in Sunbury or what, if any, connection they have to the city. Bremigen said the incident is still under investigation and charges will be forthcoming.
Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.