BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer
Brian J. Morrell EAST BRUNSWICK – Police are searching for a suspect accused of kidnapping his former girlfriend’s 18-year-old brother at gunpoint Friday.
Brian J. Morrell, 30, whose last known address was in Newark, is considered armed and dangerous, police said. He is suspected of kidnapping a Cranbury Road man in an attempt to track down the man’s sister.
Morrell allegedly showed up at the family’s Cranbury Road residence around 5:40 a.m., and since the girl was not home, he used a gun to force 18-year-old Luiz Neto to guide him to her location, via the suspect’s vehicle, police said. Neto would ultimately escape the vehicle and run to safety.
Neto told police that, earlier in the night, Morrell called the house looking for Luiz’s sister, Luana Sanchez, 22, whom Morrell had been dating for about a year. The relationship had ended due to alleged incidents of domestic violence on Morrell’s part, relatives told police.
Neto answered the phone, but refused to tell Morrell where Sanchez was. She was not home at the time.
Around 5:38 a.m., Neto encountered Morrell outside the house. Morrell allegedly grabbed Neto and tried to force him into Morrell’s vehicle, parked at a neighboring residence, police said. Neto struggled with Morrell, tackling him to the ground, but at that point Morrell pulled out a handgun, pointed it at Neto’s head and ordered him to take him to Sanchez, according to police.
The victim’s mother, Helenice Sanchez, 45, awoke during the struggle and looked outside to see Morrell leading her son through the bushes to the neighboring yard. She ran outside and saw Morrell’s white 2006 Cadillac CTS turn the corner from Fern Road onto Cranbury Road eastbound, police said. She then ran inside and called the police.
Neto told police that he escaped from the vehicle after Morrell slowed for a red traffic light at the Cranbury Road and Rues Lane intersection. Before his escape, Neto looked to see if the passenger door was unlocked. Morrell, realizing this, pointed the gun at Neto’s face and threatened to kill him if he tried to get away. But when Morrell started to accelerate after the light turned green, Neto pushed the gun away from his face, opened the passenger door and rolled out onto Cranbury Road, according to the police report.
Neto suffered only minor cuts and scrapes, police said, and ran to the Mobil gas station at the intersection, where police soon picked him up and returned him home.
Police then spotted Morrell’s vehicle, but the suspect led the officers on a chase that went into Old Bridge. However, due to Morrell’s high rate of speed, police called off the pursuit “to ensure the safety of motorists on Route 18,” police said.
Police stressed that Morrell is armed and dangerous, and noted that residents should not try to apprehend him themselves. They should instead call 911.
Morrell is facing charges of kidnapping, criminal restraint, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon and eluding.
He is described by police as a white male with brown hair and eyes, 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing 175 pounds and driving a white Cadillac with the New Jersey license plate number UXX-17V. He has been known to use the alias James Ruzich, police said.