TOMS RIVER-A Toms River man was arrested twice. Each time it was at a WaWa and each time, it all started because he was refuse service for not wearing a protective mask as required by Murphy’s Law, a series of executive orders enacted by Governor Phil Murphy.
Stephen Breza, 70, of Toms River, was arrested twice on Saturday, April 11, by the Toms River Police in incidents at different Wawa stores. Shortly before 11 a.m., Breza allegedly became belligerent when he was told to wear a mask inside the Wawa store at 179 Route 37 East. He allegedly started screaming, flailing his arms, and cursing at employees. He 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. 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 wielded menacingly.
Breza was arrested again and lodged in jail. In each case, he was charged with violating the emergency orders, disorderly conduct, and failure to submit to fingerprinting. In the first case, he also was charged with resisting arrest (disorderly persons offense). 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.