Hazlet bank robbery suspect pleads guilty

The suspect who Monday admitted holding up a Hazlet bank, then stealing his girlfriend's car, can expect a seven-year prison term at his September 16 sentencing.

Stephen A. Fedorka, 34, of Old Bridge's Laurence Harbor section, pleaded guilty to one first-degree robbery charge in a Monmouth County courtroom, according to the office of acting County Prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni.

In return, the charge is to be treated as second-degree at sentencing. The term would be subject to New Jersey's No Early Release Act (NERA), requiring him to serve 85 percent before parole eligibility. After release, he would undergo parole supervision for five years.

Fedorka admitted slipping a note to a teller in the Santander branch in the Hazlet Plaza on Route 36 on October 28, leaving with a bag of cash, heading to his girlfriend's house, and taking off in her car. He was arrested November 1, after returning to her house for personal items, investigators said. .