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State officials said Monday that a 70-year-old was jailed following two altercations at two separate Wawa stores within a span of two hours \u2013 all over his apparent refusal to wear a mask to comply with state orders aimed at stemming the spread of Coronavirus.<\/p>\n
Stephen Breza, 70, of Toms River, was arrested twice on Saturday, April 11, by Toms River police and was jailed after the second incident.<\/p>\n
According to the office of state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal, at about 11 a.m., Breza allegedly became belligerent when he was told to wear a mask inside the Wawa store at 179 Route 37 East.\u00a0 He allegedly started \u201cscreaming, flailing his arms, and cursing at employees,\u201d the statement said. He then allegedly threatened a customer in the store that he was going to hit him with a pipe. When police arrived, he screamed at officers and resisted arrest, the statement said, but was issued a summons and released.<\/p>\n
A short time later, shortly after 1:30 p.m., he went to a second Wawa at 1600 Route 37 East, where he again refused to wear a mask. He allegedly punched a male customer in the face, and when the victim left the store, Breza allegedly went to his car and retrieved a pipe, which he \u201cwielded menacingly,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n
Breza was arrested again and lodged in jail.\u00a0 In each case, he was charged with violating the emergency orders, disorderly conduct, and failure to submit to fingerprinting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the first case, he was charged with resisting arrest (a disorderly persons offense).\u00a0 In the second case, he also was charged with second-degree terroristic threats during an emergency and third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n