Pair Indicted for Allegedly Staging Game Stop Robbery

Two Plainfield men were indicted last week for allegedly staging an armed robbery at the Game Stop last month at the Watchung Square Mall.

William Curry, 20, and Ethan Hendrix, 22, were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit theft, using a juvenile to commit a crime, theft and possession of an imitation firearm, according to MyCentralJersey.com.


A 17-year-old Plainfield resident was also charged in the incident, but his case will be heard in Family Court due to his age, the article reported.

Hendrix, who was the store's manager, initially reported he was robbed at gunpoint on Aug. 8.

However, investigators determined the robbery was staged due to inconsistencies in Hendrix's statement and surveillance footage, Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano said.

According to Soriano, the footage showed Curry and the juvenile enter the store and speak with Hendrix "in an apparently familiar manner."
 
Investigators determined the three later met up at Hendrix's residence and divided the proceeds from the staged robbery, the prosecutor's office said. Police then found evidence from the "robbery" inside Hendrix's home after his arrest, the prosecutor's office said.

Hendrix and Curry face 5 to 10 years if convicted on the charge of using a juvenile to commit a crime, which is a second-degree offense, MyCentralJersey.com reported. The other charges are third-degree offenses.