NEW BRUNSWICK – A South Carolina woman will serve 15 years in prison for her involvement in the fatal armed robbery of a clerk at the Speedway gas station before the Christmas holiday in 2018, Middlesex County Acting Prosecutor Christopher L.C. Kuberiet announced.
Olya Quinnam, 22, of Beaufort, S.C., pleaded guilty on Sept. 26 to one count of first degree armed robbery, the prosecutor said.
The 15-year plea agreement is subject to the No Early Release Act, which was reached with Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Scott Lamountain and Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Vanessa Craveiro.
Quinnam will have to serve 85 percent of her 15-year prison term before becoming eligible for parole. She is scheduled to be sentenced in New Brunswick on Nov. 18 by state Superior Court Judge Michael A. Toto.
On Dec. 20, 2018, at 4:02 a.m., Edison police officers responded to Speedway at 789 Amboy Ave. and found John Bertram, 38, of the Fords section of Woodbridge. Bertram was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:15 a.m., according to the statement.
Marcus A. Wright, 22, of Beaufort, S.C., was apprehended on Jan. 3 in South Carolina and charged with first degree murder, first degree armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, both second degree crimes, according to the statement.
Quinnam was apprehended and charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery and hindering apprehension, both second degree crimes, according to the statement.
An investigation led by Edison detectives Loren Long and Wilfredo Brown and Detective David Abromaitis of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office determined Wright and Quinnam were allegedly involved in the robbery and fatal shooting of Bertram.
The investigation revealed that while Quinnam waited outside, Wright allegedly entered the store at the gas station and held up the clerk with a handgun. Bertram handed the cash register drawer containing currency to Wright, after which Wright allegedly fired his weapon, killing Bertram, according to officials.
Wright is being held in South Carolina awaiting extradition to New Jersey, according to the statement.
