MAYS LANDING- On Aug. 4, 2021, an Atlantic County Grand Jury handed up an indictment against an Absecon man in connection to a home invasion robbery that occurred on September 15, 2020, in the Minotola section of Buena Borough, Acting Prosecutor Cary Shill announced.
Michael Hayes, 44, of Absecon, was indicted on the following charges:• Attempted Murder (1st degree)• Conspiracy to Commit Murder (1st degree)• Robbery (1st degree)• Unlawful Possession of a Handgun by a Person with a Prior No Early Release Act Conviction (1st degree)• Certain Person Not to Have Weapons (2nd degree)• Unlawful Possession of a Handgun (2nd degree)• Possession of a Firearm for an Unlawful Purpose (2nd degree)• Burglary (2nd degree)• Aggravated Assault (2nd degree)• Criminal Restraint (3rd degree)• Terroristic Threats (3rd degree)• Theft (3rd degree)
In the early morning hours of September 15, 2020, Hayes and another unidentified male, both armed with handguns, approached the victim outside the victim’s house and demanded money. Hayes and the unidentified man then duct-taped the victim’s hand behind his back and forced him inside his house and up the stairs into his bedroom. One suspect stayed with the victim in his room while the other suspect kept lookout in the upstairs hallway. The suspect in the room took $1,000 cash and a gold necklace that were located inside the victim’s bedside nightstand. When the victim attempted to escape by running down the stairs, the suspect in the hallway fired one gunshot at the victim. The bullet grazed the back of the victim’s head. The victim safely made it to a neighbor’s house where he dialed 911. The suspects then fled the scene.
Hayes was previously indicted on May 6, 2021 for first degree Maintaining a Narcotics Production Facility inside the Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City. This investigation was led by the Liberty Mid-Atlantic HIDTA Task Force and the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Gangs, Guns, & Narcotics Unit,with assistance from the Atlantic City Police Department, Absecon Police Department, and the Atlantic County Regional S.W.A.T. Team.