Kendall Park man charged after 2-hour search.
By: Sharlee DiMenichi
A Kendall Park man threatened suicide, cut himself and fled into the woods
near Woodlot Park on New Road on Monday, police said.
Andrew Bullen, 42, slashed his arms with a kitchen knife following a
dispute with a resident of his home, said Detective Jim Stoddard of the
South Brunswick Police Department. Detective Stoddard declined to specify
what the argument was about and who was involved.
Officers, aided by members of the Kendall Park Volunteer Fire Company and
the Kendall Park First Aid Squad and state police officers, searched the
wooded area between Woodlot Park and the Monmouth Mobile Home Park on Route
1 for about an two hours before catching Mr. Bullen.
Both of his arms were significantly bloody, Detective Stoddard said.
He was charged with criminal restraint, possession of a weapon for unlawful
purpose, simple assault and resisting arrest. He is at the Robert Wood
Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick for treatment of his cuts and
for a psychiatric evaluation. Bail was set at $25,000.
A resident of the house where Mr. Bullen lived called police to report that
Mr. Bullen had threatened to kill himself and fled into the woods. Officers
confirmed that Mr. Bullen was in the wooded area by speaking to him when he
called his house on a cell phone, Detective Stoddard said. The other
residents of the house fled the house, as well.
Officers, firefighters and first aid workers lined the perimeter of the
forest and searched from the edge inward, Detective Stoddard said. A state
police search helicopter whirred over the forest. Detective Stoddard said
the lack of foliage and clear sky helped the officers search from the air.
Basically the conditions were optimal to do an aerial search, Detective
Stoddard said.
Officer Eugene Rickle saw Mr. Bullen at about 1:15 p.m. in the woods off
Zev Court after police had formed a perimeter search, Detective Stoddard
said. Mr. Bullen ran away.
Officer Rickle chased him for about a half mile and arrested him after a
minor struggle in the woods near Stockton Road in Kendall Park, Detective
Jim Ryan said.
Mr. Bullen was transported by Kendall Park First Aid Squad members to
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.
Mr. Bullen was in good condition Monday, according to a hospital
spokeswoman. Staff of the township Recreation Department closed Woodlot Park
for about an hour and a half to facilitate the search, said township
Recreation Coordinator Kevin Hood.
Detective Stoddard said officers warned nearby residents and employees of
daycare centers to stay indoors while police searched for Mr. Bullens.
Brenda Soden of Robin Road in the Monmouth Mobile Home Park said she was
surprised to see the helicopter overhead and the police car on her street.
I was hanging my clothes out and I thought, Oh, no, who did something now?
Ms. Soden said.
Ms. Soden’s neighbor said officers asked if she had seen a man who looked
like Mr. Bullen.
Kathi McKay, who also lives on Robin Road, which is near the edge of the
woods, said officers provided a limited description of Mr. Bullen.
Just white T-shirt, glasses and bleeding pretty good, Ms. Mc Kay said.