FREEHOLD – A Howell man is facing 15 years in state prison after pleading guilty to charges of attempted armed robbery and attempted burglary, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
On Feb. 19, 20-year old Tristan Reyes pleaded guilty to two counts of first degree Attempted Armed Robbery and one count of third degree Attempted Burglary, before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Richard W. English.
Reyes is facing 15 years subject to the provisions of the No Early Release Act, which requires he serve 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.
The charges against Reyes connect back to three separate incidents that took place in Howell and Jackson in February and March 2018. Each of the three incidents involved Reyes observing a female, anywhere from 18-38 years, shopping alone, following her inside the store, and tailing them her in his car.
He was arrested by Howell Police on March 9, 2018 after police identified him through surveillance footage.
“Reyes admitted that he did not know any of the women and that he followed them home in order to rob them while armed with a knife,” stated Christopher Swendeman of the MCPO. However, all of these attempted were thwarted before a robbery took place or any victim was injured, he added.
In an incident in Jackson, Reyes was granted entrance to the victim’s home by her 20-year old daughter on the pretense of using their phone. Reyes then fled when he discovered there was another person in the home.
In an incident in Howell, Reyes tailed an 18-year old woman home from the grocery store. The woman called her father to alert him of the suspicious activity, who used his car to block the pursuit when she reached the home. Reyes made a U-turn and drove away.
A third incident occurred when Reyes walked up a victim’s driveway and peered inside the open garage. He later fled the scene after the victim’s dog came out of the garage.
He remains at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution pending a scheduled sentencing on April 18, 2019.
