Police are in search of a man following a Dec. 30 assault and kidnapping at Westerly Arms Apartment in Hightstown.
By: Michael Ross
HIGHTSTOWN Two men carrying handguns and wearing ski masks assaulted three people at the Westerly Arms Apartment complex last week, police said.
The incident, which occurred Dec. 30 at 11:28 p.m., was reported by an individual who abandoned an emergency 911 call, according to police.
Patrolmen Terry Brennan and Michael Gordy were dispatched to the apartment of Christina Armijos where she was found with a broken finger. Her friend Carlos Pacuay, of East Windsor, was found bleeding from the head and her friend Penny Lopez, of Roosevelt, was found forced into a closet, police said.
The three individuals refused medical treatment, according to police.
Detective Ben Miller was dispatched to investigate and learned Ms. Armijos’ 16-month-old daughter was abducted during the incident.
Ms. Armijos’ estranged husband and the father of the infant, Pedro Armijos, 22, and his brother Galo Armijos, 26, were identified as suspects.
The brothers lived together in an apartment separate from Ms. Armijos, police said. Galo Armijos is an illegal immigrant, according to Casey DeBlasio, spokeswoman for the Mercer County prosecutor’s office.
Within 10 minutes, Cranbury police stopped a car with Galo Armijos and his infant niece on Route 130. The baby was unharmed and reunited shortly thereafter with her mother.
Mr. Armijos was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, making terroristic threats and a weapons offense. A replica gun was found at the scene, Ms. DeBlasio said.
Police said they are limited in the details they can provide because the assault is a domestic violence incident that currently is under investigation.
Bail was set at $235,000 for Galo Armijos and he was taken to Mercer County Correction Center on Dec. 31. He appeared at a Wednesday bail hearing with defense attorney John Hartmann and asked for a reduction in bail, according to Ms. DeBlasio.
Superior Court Judge Charles. E. Delehey granted the request, reduced the bail to $150,000, and ordered that Mr. Galo have no contact with the victims if released. As of Thursday, Mr. Armijos was at the Mercer County Correction Center.
A $235,000 warrant was issued against Pedro Armijos, for whom police still are looking.

