HOWELL – A 19-year-old male resident of Howell has been charged with stalking following a pair of incidents in the community. The man was arrested on March 9 by Detective Cpl. Nancy Carroll and Detective Robert Ortenzi.
Police said the man was charged with two counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of third-degree possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes, two counts of third-degree unlawful possession of a weapon and two counts of fourth-degree stalking. He was processed and placed in the Monmouth County jail, Freehold Township.
The first case occurred at about 8 p.m. Feb. 24. Police said the man followed an 18-year-old woman into a supermarket on Route 9. He followed the woman around the store and to her car. Police said when she left the parking lot, he followed her in his vehicle. Police said the woman was going home and believed she was being followed. She made several unnecessary turns to see if the vehicle continued to follow her, which it did.
When the woman pulled over to see what the other driver would do, the vehicle also pulled over and the driver shut off the lights. When the woman began driving again, the driver followed her toward her home and the woman called her father. The woman’s father attempted to confront the driver in the street, but he drove away, according to police.
On March 8 at noon, a 38-year-old woman arrived home in the Ramtown section of Howell. Police said she noticed a black minivan parked in front of a neighbor’s home and alerted her neighbors. Moments later, the van left the area.
The woman checked her home’s surveillance footage, which showed the minivan following her into the neighborhood. As the woman was unloading groceries in the open garage and going back and forth into her home, the suspect is seen wearing all black, with a hood and ski mask covering his face, according to police.
Police said the man can be seen approaching the house in a manner to avoid detection and identification. The man was seen looking into garage. At that time, the homeowner’s Rottweiler ran out of the home barking, causing the man to sprint toward his van. As the woman exited the home, the suspect could be seen hiding behind his van. After the woman re-entered the home, the driver got into the van and left the scene.
Police said an investigation determined the suspect followed the woman from one store to another on Route 9 in Howell, then back to her home. Police said the investigation determined the man followed other women, possibly at the Freehold Raceway Mall, Freehold Township, around stores and back to their vehicles.