Man Sentenced To 15 Years For Attempted Armed Robbery

Photo courtesy Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office

  FREEHOLD – A Howell man will spend 15 years in state prison on attempted armed robbery and attempted burglary charges after following women home from local stores in incidents in Howell and Jackson, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

  On April 18, 20-year old Tristan Reyes was sentenced to 15 years by the Honorable Richard W. English, J.S.C. for two first degree Attempted Armed Robbery and one third degree Attempted Burglary.

  Reyes previously pled guilty to the charges on February 19, 2019.

  Reyes was arrested and charged following three separate incidents in February and March of 2018. Reyes admitted to observing females shopping alone, following them inside the store on foot, and then following them home in his car.

  The women in each of the three incidents ranged from 18-38 years old.

  Reyes did not know these women personally before following them and was planning on robbing them while armed with a knife, however in each incident, his efforts were thwarted before he could assault them. 

  In one instance, after following a Jackson woman home, Reyes went to her front door and pretended to need to use a phone. After discovering that the woman’s 20-year old daughter was also home, Reyes fled the scene.

  In another incident in Howell, Reyes followed an 18-year old female around a grocery store and then to her residence. When the victim realized she was being followed, she called her father for help. The victim drove home and her father pulled his car out to block any further pursuit.

  In the last incident, Reyes followed a woman to several stores and later to her residence. Video surveillance footage shows Reyes peering inside the woman’s open garage door. When the victim’s dog exited the garage, Reyes retreated to his vehicle and fled the scene.

  Reyes was arrested by the Howell Police on March 9, 2018 after he and his vehicle were identified through store surveillance footage. 

  Reyes must serve 85 percent of the sentence before he is eligible for release on parole. Once released, he will then be on parole supervision for five years.