NJ Man Charged for Allegedly Robbing Business of $700,000 Cash

Nearly five years to the day after the alleged crime, authorities say a man from Ocean County has been arrested and charged with robbing a check-cashing business that netted $700,000.

Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago says 41-year-old Travis A. Bryant of Jackson is facing first-degree robbery, second-degree burglary, and fourth-degree possession of an imitation handgun charges.

At approximately 9 a.m. on Thursday, November 2, 2017, members of the West Long Branch Police Department responded to the check-cashing business on Route 36 on a report of a silent alarm activation. At that location, officers found a lone employee, who advised that a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt pulled tightly around his face and sunglasses had just robbed the store of a large quantity of cash.

Authorities say they quickly determined that the man had entered the store when no customers were inside and, "used a ladder to access and climb through ceiling ducts in order to access a secured, employees-only area of the business where cash was stored."

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After allegedly falling through the ceiling, Bryant reportedly approached the lone employee, told her he had a weapon, ordered her into a bathroom, and then stole her purse, cell phone, and approximately $700,000 in cash.

A long-term investigation resulted in Bryant being identified as a suspect in the case and he was arrested without incident late last week.

Bryant was last reported to be in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution pending an initial court appearance.

The public is reminded that charges are accusations and all persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.