Police in Toms River say they arrested a 70-year-old man twice at two different Wawa locations after he refused to wear a mask, and became belligerent when told to.

 

According to police, Stephen Breza, of Toms River, was arrested twice on April 11.

Shortly before 11 a.m. at the location at 179 Route 37 East, Breza allegedly became belligerent when he was told to wear a mask inside the store. He allegedly started screaming, flailing his arms, and cursing at employees. He also 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. 

Breza then went to a second Wawa shortly after 1:30 p.m. 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 wielded menacingly. 

Breza was arrested again and lodged in jail. 

 

He was charged in each case with violating the emergency orders, disorderly conduct, and failure to submit to fingerprinting.  In the first case, he also was charged with resisting arrest. 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.