5th man charged in scrap yard armed robbery, shootout with police

ELIZABETH -- A fifth person has been arrested in a 2014 violent armed robbery of a city scrap yard and a shootout with police on Routes 1&9, authorities said.  In April 2014, police cars surround a truck that was stopped on North Avenue in Elizabeth...

28 February 2017 Tuesday 08:56
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5th man charged in scrap yard armed robbery, shootout with police

ELIZABETH -- A fifth person has been arrested in a 2014 violent armed robbery of a city scrap yard and a shootout with police on Routes 1&9, authorities said. 

In April 2014, police cars surround a truck that was stopped on North Avenue in Elizabeth following an armed robbery and a shootout. (Tom Haydon/The Star-Ledger)

Anthony S. Brailsford, of Irvington, joins three Newark men and another Irvington man who were previously accused in the incident, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace Park said. 

Brailsford, 28, is charged with kidnapping, robbery, aggravated assault, two weapons offenses and resisting arrest. 

The men are accused of going to the Bayway Scrap Metal yard on Amboy Avenue on April 18, 2014, binding several people's hands and feet with zip ties, and assaulting them while armed with guns. 

They stole wallets and cash, filled a trailer with catalytic converters and fled in two cars, one of which was a stolen pickup truck, Park said. 

Police briefly chased the men on Routes 1&9 before one of the men fired a gun at the officers and police returned fire, Park said. No one was injured in the shootout, she said.

The getaway cars crashed on North Avenue East, and four of the men were arrested and held on $1 million bail each. Police previously said they recovered an automatic rifle, a sub-machine gun, three handguns and a bag of money.

Three employees of the scrap metal shop were treated at a hospital for minor injuries, police said.

Brailsford was at large until authorities arrested him Friday, Park said.

His four co-defendants -- Michael Howard, Steven Chambers, Sharod Saunders and Rafael Clemmons -- face a 57-count indictment and are awaiting trial. 

Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati or on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

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