GALLOWAY - Two men were arrested Sunday morning a block away from where they allegedly held up a South Jersey motel with a semi-automatic weapon and a tire iron while wearing white masks.

Galloway Police said that Rohit Surti, the owner/manager of the Tri-Way Motel on White Horse Pike was assaulted around 8 a.m. and the men stole unspecified items before leaving.

A short time later a patrol officer spotted a suspicious looking vehicle about a block from the motel. The factory markings had been covered in duct tape and a fake license plate was displayed, police said. A male and female were inside the vehicle and police observed a second man re-enter the vehicle as police approached.

While questioning the occupants police saw one of the white masks sticking out from under the driver seat, police said. Police detained all three individuals.

During a search of the vehicle, police said they uncovered the other mask, the tire iron and the stolen items. The rifle, an AMD-65 AK-47 Semi Automatic Rifle 7, was found nearby where the second man was observed walking from, police said. The items all matched what was recorded by the motel's surveillance video.

Police identified the two men as Matthew Lynch, 26, of Galloway and Emanuel Heath, 22, of Pleasantville. They were both charged with robbery, possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose, burglary, theft, aggravated assault, possession of an unlicensed assault firearm, possession of large capacity ammunition magazine and possession of other weapon. Police did not identify the woman who was with Lynch and Heath at the time of their arrest.

Both men are being held at Atlantic County Jail pending $250,000 bail each.

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