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SOUTH BRUNSWICK: Man brings fake gun to court parking lot

By Charles W. Kim, Managing Editor
   A 22-year-old township man is in hot water after allegedly bringing a fake handgun with him to the municipal court parking lot last week.
   Police arrested Sam Sutton of Monmouth Junction and charged him possession of an imitation firearm outside the court at 3:30 p.m. July 21.
   According to police, Sgt. James Ryan approached Mr. Sutton’s burgundy Jaguar that was parked in a fire lane outside of the court in the Municipal Complex on Route 522.
   When Sgt. Ryan asked Mr. Sutton for his identification and motor vehicle paperwork, he did not move and kept staring at the officer, according to police.
   Sgt. Ryan stepped forward to the vehicle and observed what appeared to be the butt of a handgun sticking out of Mr. Sutton’s front pants pocket, police said.
   Sgt. Ryan said that he was able to grab Mr. Sutton’s hands and placed them over his head while ordering him not to move.
   Two additional officers arrived to back up Sgt. Ryan and remove Mr. Sutton from the vehicle, police said.
   The officers removed a replica of a .22 caliber handgun from Mr. Sutton’s pocket, which, instead of bullets, produced a blade out of the gun barrel, according to police.
   ”We train our officers to quickly assess situations and react. In this case, the suspect was in front of the municipal court, in a fire lane, and had what appeared to be a handgun in his waist. Its not clear if Mr. Sutton was looking for a confrontation or clueless to the danger he created,” Police Chief Raymond Hayducka said. “The fact that Sgt. Ryan was in plain clothes and in an unmarked car may have delayed Mr. Sutton’s reaction and prevented the situation from escalating.”
   Police said that a check revealed Mr. Sutton had outstanding warrants from Robinsville.
   Mr. Sutton was jailed at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick in default of $500 bail, according to police.