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Township Man Busted For Retail Theft Ring Was On Probation During Investigation

David Rubin. Photo: Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.

The township man who was among six charged with running a retail theft ring out of a Hamilton Street business was on probation from a previous conviction when the latest alleged illegal activity was taking place.

David Rubin, 59, owner of Everything Wireless, 665 Hamilton St., was still serving a 24-month probationary sentence when the investigation into the theft ring started late in 2017. Rubin’s probationary period ended in April, 2018, according to court papers.

Rubin was sentenced to probation in April 2016 after he was convicted of two counts of hindering prosecution by giving false statements and one count of tampering with public records, according to court papers. He’d been arrested on July 31, 2013 after  law enforcement authorities participating in a sting operation to uncover illegal gold sales in the county discovered that he had stolen items in his former Hamilton Street store location.

Jurors in his 2016 trial deadlocked on one charge of fencing and three charges of receiving stolen property, prompting Superior Court Judge Robert B. Reed to declare a mistrial and dismiss those charges, according to the court documents.

Rubin’s sentencing documents show that probation was seen as preferable to jail time because this had been Rubin’s first arrest, and that he “has no history of prior delinquency or criminal activity,” the conviction was “the result of circumstances that are unlikely to recur,” and he is “particularly likely to respond affirmatively to probationary treatment.”

Rubin, his wife, Lisa Rubin, 54, both of Aldeburgh Avenue; Sherylee Rubin, 58, of Easton Avenue; Batsheva Rubin-Rivera, 23, of Sandford Street, New Brunswick; Andre Watts, 29, of Wilson Street, North Brunswick, and Dunia Patricia Hernandez, 31, of Luis Street were charged a week apart in early June following the 7-month investigation by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Burglary Task Force.

Batsheva Rubin is David and Lisa Rubin’s daughter, and Sherylee Rubin is David Rubin’s sister. Hernandez and Watts are Rubin’s employees.

The Rubins are a prominent Franklin family, having owned several business in the township over the years, the best-known of which was Rubin’s Hardware on John F. Kennedy Boulevard and, later, Franklin Boulevard, which was owned by David Rubin’s father. Sherylee Rubin is also a Realtor.

The six have not yet had their first appearance – during which they hear the formal charges against them and enter pleas – and won’t until after an expected Grand Jury has taken its action, Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office spokeswoman Det. Jeanne Trillhaase said.

 

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