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5 Teens Nabbed In Wanaque Gas Station 'Hidden Key' Cigarette Thefts

WANAQUE, N.J. -- Using a hidden employees' key, five teens stole cigarettes from a Wanaque gas station before police busted them through surveillance video, authorities said.

Lukoil on Ringwood Avenue in Wanaque.

Lukoil on Ringwood Avenue in Wanaque.

Photo Credit: GoogleMaps

Officers responding to an activated alarm at the Lukoil station on Ringwood Avenue at 1:15 a.m. Saturday didn't find any signs of forced entry, Capt. Kenneth Fackina said Monday.

They summoned a keyholder, who told them that the intruders apparently used the secreted key, tripping the alarm, he said.

Video showed several teens "entering the store and stealing cigarettes while others acted as lookouts," Fakina said.

Police took a 15-year-old old Haskell boy into custody and issued him a delinquency complaint charging burglary, theft and conspiracy, the captain said.

Soon after, they signed burglary ad conspiracy complaints against two 17-year-old boys, one from Wanaque and the other Ringwood, he said.

Michael Rockhill, 19, of Bloomfield, also was arrested and charged with burglary and conspiracy, Fackina said.

In addition, police brought complaints against the Haskell 15-year-old and a girl, also 15 from Haskell, for a similar theft on Aug. 13, he said.

Officers Kevin Norton and Paul Carbone investigated, Fackina said.

Police released the juveniles to their parents pending hearings in the Family Division of Superior Court in Paterson, the captain said.

Rockhill was released on a court summons, he said.

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