JERSEY CITY, NJ — A Bergen County man has been sentenced to 33 years in state prison for a string of armed robberies that occurred throughout Hudson County in 2022.
Joel Krecz, 38, of Hackensack, was sentenced Tuesday by the Honorable John Young, J.S.C., according to Acting Hudson County Prosecutor Wayne Mello.
Krecz was convicted at trial of four counts of armed robbery, one count of robbery, five counts of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, five counts of unlawful possession of a weapon, five counts of theft, one count of aggravated assault, one count of possession of prohibited weapons (large capacity ammunition), and one count of possession of prohibited weapons (hollow point bullets).
He was found not guilty of one count of aggravated assault.
The sentence is subject to the No Early Release Act and the Graves Act.
The charges stem from four armed robberies that were reported between the late night hours of Friday, April 29, 2022, and the early morning hours of Saturday, April 30, 2022.
In each incident, a handgun was brandished and money was demanded from the clerk working at a business.
A joint investigation by the Jersey City Police Department, Union City Police Department, Secaucus Police Department, Hoboken Police Department, and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Gangs Task Force identified Krecz as the individual wanted in connection with the robberies.
The robberies included a liquor store on Summit Avenue in Union City on Saturday, April 30, 2022; a gas station on Route 3 in Secaucus on Saturday, April 30, 2022; a business on Paterson Plank Road in Union City on Saturday, April 30, 2022; and a liquor store on Willow Avenue in Hoboken on Saturday, April 30, 2022.
Krecz was arrested in Jersey City on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, while in possession of a handgun.
