Middletown man charged with knifepoint gas station robbery

A suspect is in custody in connection with Tuesday's brazen mid-afternoon armed holdup of a Middletown gas station.

Cole Murch, 21, of Middletown, faces a first-degree robbery charge, three weapons-possession counts, and a charge of resisting arrest, according to police.

First reports arrived to authorities at about 3:39 PM. Investigators said that Murch brandished a knife at the Wawa station, on Route 36 in the Leonardo section, and ran off with cash.

He was apprehended a short distance from the site, by Detective First Class Daniel Sullivan and Detective Keith Hirschbein.

Murch was placed in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Freehold, in lieu of $285,000 full bail.

Criminal charges are accusations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.