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Veron S. Brown
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Ryan D. Servis
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Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrests and indictments of 26-year-old VERON S. BROWN of Mount Vernon, NY, and 25-year-old RYAN D. SERVIS of Mount Vernon, NY on charges stemming from a string of armed robberies committed in Bergen County, Passaic County, and Essex County. The arrests and indictments are the result of a nearly year-long investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Matthew Finck.
On Sunday, January 7, 2024, at approximately 4:50 a.m., the Clifton Police Department responded to an armed robbery at a gas station located on Route 3 in Clifton, NJ. Upon arrival, responding officers were informed that a black SUV occupied by two unknown males wearing ski masks drove up to the gas station. One of the men exited the SUV, approached the gas station attendant, and gestured with his hand in his jacket pocket that he had a gun. The attendant ran from the gas station to safety. One of the masked suspects then entered the attendant’s booth, accessed the cash register, and grabbed lost-and-found credit cards left behind by customers, which were stored in the register for safekeeping. Both masked men fled the scene in their SUV.
Minutes later, as the Clifton Police Department responded to this first armed robbery, patrol units began proactively canvassing the area’s other gas stations. In doing so, officers discovered that a second armed robbery at a different gas station on Route 3 in Clifton, NJ, had also just occurred. Officers determined that a black SUV occupied by two unknown males wearing ski masks entered a second gas station. This time, one of the masked men exited the SUV, brandishing a firearm, and demanding money. The other masked suspect exited the vehicle, entered the attendant booth, and removed $140.00 in cash before both men fled the scene in their SUV.
A short time later at approximately 5:00 a.m., while the Clifton Police Department was still on scene at the two initial robberies on Route 3, the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department responded to an armed robbery at a gas station located on Route 17 in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ. Upon arrival, responding officers were informed that a black SUV occupied by two unknown males wearing ski masks entered the station and drove to an open gas pump. The masked passenger exited the vehicle, approached the gas attendant with gun drawn, and pressed the weapon against the attendant’s torso while demanding cash. The gas station attendant turned over $150.00 in cash, at which time the masked men fled the scene in their SUV. The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigation Squad was notified, responded, and initiated a joint investigation with the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department.
At 5:21 a.m., before detectives arrived at the Hasbrouck Heights gas station, the Little Ferry Police Department responded to a report of an armed robbery at a gas station located on Route 46 East in Little Ferry, NJ. Upon arrival, officers were informed by the gas station attendant that a black SUV occupied by two unknown males wearing ski masks drove up to the station. Both men exited the SUV, and one pointed a firearm at the attendant, demanding cash. The two masked men stole $90.00 before fleeing in the black SUV. The Special Investigation Squad was notified and also responded to investigate at that additional crime scene.
During the preliminary investigation of both armed robberies, detectives learned of the incidents in Clifton, NJ from earlier that same morning. Additional investigation determined that the vehicle used in the Hasbrouck Heights and Little Ferry armed robberies was the same as the vehicle used in the Passaic County robberies. Detectives subsequently identified it as a black Kia Sorento SUV.
On Friday, January 26, 2024, at approximately 3:02 a.m., the Fort Lee Police Department responded to an armed robbery at a gas station on Bergen Boulevard in Fort Lee, NJ. Upon arrival, responding officers were informed that a Kia sedan occupied by two men wearing ski masks entered the gas station. One of the men opened the passenger door, brandished a firearm, and told the attendant not to move. The attendant ran from the gas pumps area into the gas station store, whereupon the masked men fled the gas station with no proceeds.
A little more than twenty minutes later, at approximately 3:26 a.m., the Newark Police Department responded to an armed robbery at a gas station located on Walnut Street in Newark, NJ. Upon arrival, responding officers were informed that a Kia sedan occupied by two men wearing ski masks drove up to the gas station. Both men, one of whom was brandishing a firearm, exited the Kia and approached the attendant in the attendant booth. The men stole an unknown amount of cash from the booth and fled. Within minutes, a Kia sedan with two masked men drove up to yet another gas station on Bloomfield Avenue in Newark, NJ and once again robbed that gas station attendant at gunpoint.
In the months that followed, detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Squad, along with assistance from several local police departments, determined that the Kia sedan used in the latter spate of armed robberies was a gray Kia Sportage. Detectives eventually identified both the black Kia Sorento SUV and the gray Kia Sportage, discovering both vehicles as stolen cars from New York City, which were taken prior to both waves of armed robberies and driven into New Jersey. Additionally, detectives discovered that the license plate affixed to the stolen, black Kia Sorento SUV was swapped with an independently stolen license plate taken from an unrelated parked vehicle in Clifton, NJ. Lastly, the investigation revealed that a total of three suspects, who operated at a given time in teams of two, were responsible for the string of armed robberies. Through further investigation, detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Squad were able to identify VERON S. BROWN and RYAN D. SERVIS as two of the three masked assailants who, while utilizing the stolen vehicles, participated in some or all of the connected gunpoint robberies across three northern New Jersey counties in January 2024.
As a result of the investigation, on Thursday, August 22, 2024, alongside special agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force, detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Squad located and arrested VERON S. BROWN in Westchester County, NY, and RYAN D. SERVIS in the Bronx, NY. Both men were subsequently extradited to Bergen County, NJ and remanded to the Bergen County Jail. BROWN and SERVIS remain in custody, having been detained pending trial pursuant to 17 criminal charges that were filed in this matter by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office related to all of the connected armed robberies in all three counties.
On Tuesday, November 19, 2024, a Bergen County Jury handed up a seventeen-count indictment, charging VERON S. BROWN with seven counts of first-degree armed robbery, N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1a(1); two counts of second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5b(1); two counts of second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4a(1); four counts of fourth-degree aggravated assault, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b(4); and two counts of third-degree theft of a motor vehicle, N.J.S.A. 2C:20-10.2.
The Bergen County Grand Jury also indicted RYAN D. SERVIS, charging three counts of first-degree armed robbery, N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1a(1); one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5b(1); one count of second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4a(1); one count of fourth-degree aggravated assault, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b(4); and one count of third-degree theft of a motor vehicle, N.J.S.A. 2C:20-10.2.
This investigation, led by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Squad, is continuing. Anyone with information may contact the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Tips Line at (201) 226-5532.
Prosecutor Musella states that the charges are merely accusations, and that the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Prosecutor Musella thanks the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Safe Streets Task Force – Westchester County) for their assistance with the apprehension of the defendants. Additionally, Prosecutor Musella thanks the Clifton Police Department, Fort Lee Police Department, Hasbrouck Heights Police Department, Little Ferry Police Department, and Newark Police Department for their individual and collective assistance with this lengthy investigation. Lastly, Prosecutor Musella thanks and recognizes the assistance and coordination of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office during this lengthy, multi-jurisdictional investigation.
