Barnegat Man Arrested in Theft from Manchester Supermarket

A Barnegat man remained behind bars Sunday after police say he shoved a cashier at a Manchester supermarket Saturday night, then stole money from the register before fleeing.

Thomas Tomlinson, 28, is facing charges of robbery, assault, theft and eluding police in connection with the incident, which occurred at the Manchester Shop-Rite store on Route 70 at 8:33 p.m., said Manchester Police Capt. Lisa Parker.

Parker said officers went to the store after receiving a call that a man had forcefully taken an unknown amount of money out of a 59-year-old female cashier's register. The cashier told officers that while she was getting change from the till for another customer, the suspect "came out of nowhere" and shoved her away from the register. When the cashier tried covering the till, the suspect used his shoulder to pin her against the conveyor belt.

The suspect then ran into the parking lot, Parker said, hopped into a Subaru station wagon and fled.

Shortly after the incident, Parker said, Lakehurst Police Officer Mathew Kline observed a white Subaru Wagon in the parking lot of the Circle Plaza along Route 70. When Kline identified himself to the driver, he put the vehicle in reverse, disregarded orders to stop, and exited the parking lot at a high rate of speed, said Parker.

Kline, however, had obtained the license plate number of the vehicle and, using DMV photos and security footage from Shop-Rite, determined the suspect was Tomlindon, the registered owner of the vehicle.

Ultimately, Tomlinson was found at about 6:45 a.m. Sunday morning when an off-duty Manchester police officer, Lt. Vincent Manco, spotted the Subaru at the Wawa store at the intersection of Lighthouse and Bay avenues in Barnegat.

Manco contacted Barnegat Police, who arrested Tomlinson without incident, Parker said.

Tomlinson is being held in the Ocean County Jail on $150,000 cash bail, Parker said.

The incident is being investigated by Det. Danny Barker and Officer Marc Micciulla of the Manchester Police Department. The Ocean County Sheriff's Department and Manchester First Aid Squad also responded to the scene.

The Shop-Rite cashier sustained an injury to her left hand but later refused further medical treatment, Parker said.