during search of vehicle
Police find stun gun
during search of vehicle
BY MATT AUERBACH
Staff Writer
EDISON — Two township men stand charged with robbery and assault after a violent incident at a local apartment complex.
A 37-year-old male was walking through the parking lot of the Horizon Drive apartment complex at 7:15 p.m. on Jan. 6 when he was attacked by two men.
According to officer Robert Dudash, the victim was allegedly confronted by two black males asking for cigarettes. He responded that he had none. As he walked past them, they grabbed him from behind, threw him to the ground and began punching and kicking him.
One of the suspects then grabbed the victim’s backpack and both men fled on foot, Dudash said.
The victim drove himself to J.F.K. Medical Center, Edison, and was treated for cuts and bruises on his face and body.
A short time later, Dudash said, officers Charles Zundel and Michael Loreti arrived at the hospital and met with the victim, who gave them a description of the suspects.
After meeting with the victim, the officers returned to the parking lot and began searching the area between Horizon Drive and College Drive. They found the victim’s empty backpack in a dumpster near Building 5 at College Drive.
The officers then observed a black male who fit the description of one of the suspects entering a 2002 silver Mitsubishi Eclipse. They stopped the vehicle as it was leaving the parking lot and found two females and one male inside, Dudash said.
The officers recognized the male, Dontae Simmons, 20, Edison and, after running a check on the vehicle’s occupants, found a warrant for his arrest in the township for contempt of court. One of the females in the vehicle, Rebecca Swick, 27, Edison, also had an outstanding arrest warrant for contempt of court.
The officers then placed Simmons and Swick under arrest on the basis of the outstanding warrants, Dudash said.
When the officers searched the car, they allegedly discovered a stun gun lying between the front seat and the driver’s side door.
The driver of the car, Katalin Perry, 36, Edison, was charged with possession of a weapon. The officers brought Perry and Simmons to headquarters for questioning, according to Dudash.
Upon further investigation, Dudash said, police found and arrested the second suspect, Kaseem Burr, 21, Edison, at approximately 1 a.m. the next morning in an apartment on College Drive.
Burr, Simmons and Perry were transferred to the Middlesex County Adult Corrections Center, North Brunswick.
Perry is being held in lieu of $75,000 bail on a weapons possession charge. Burr and Simmons are being held in lieu of $75,000 bail on charges of robbery and assault.