An area man has been convicted of committing an armed robbery of a convenience store in 2023 and could face up to 20 years in prison, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Wednesday.

A jury on Monday returned a guilty verdict against William A. Herndon, 41, of Neptune Township, following a trial before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Christie Bevacqua.

The case background …

Shortly after 1 a.m. on Friday, March 31, 2023, Neptune police responded to the 7-Eleven on Route 35 south, near the intersection at West Lake Avenue, on a report of an alarm activation.

The investigation revealed that while a store employee attempted to give change to a customer, the Herndon brandished a sawed-off shotgun and reached over the counter in an attempt to take money out of the cash register. He then fled the area in an unknown direction. 

After Herndon was identified, he was arrested on April 18, 2023 and held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution (MCCI).

At trial, the state presented physical evidence, witness testimony, and video evidence — including recovered video depicting Herndon sawing off the end of the shotgun he used in the robbery — in order to prove their case.

Sentencing has been scheduled for Friday, Aug. 30, before Judge Bevacqua, at which time Herndon will face a term of up to 20 years in state prison, subject to New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (NERA), which mandates that 85 percent of the sentence be served prior to the possibility of parole.

— Edited press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office

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