remain in county jail as
investigation continues
Twp. officer
recovering
Suspects in May 10 chase
remain in county jail as
investigation continues
By linda denicola
Staff Writer
LINDA DeNICOLA A damaged fence and tree mark the spot in front of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Freehold Borough, where Freehold Township Police Officer William Holohan crashed during his pursuit of a suspect’s vehicle on May 10. See page 16.
FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — Police Officer William Holohan is home recuperating from injuries he sustained when he was thrown from a car he had stopped on May 10.
According to Freehold Township police Lt. Robert Brightman, Holohan’s injuries are not life threatening, but he is expected to be at home recuperating for a couple of weeks.
Holohan, who joined the Freehold Township Police Department in September 1997, was driving one of two patrol cars when the officers stopped an automobile that had been reported to have been operated in an erratic manner on Route 9 in Manalapan.
Monmouth County First Assistant Prosecutor Robert A. Honecker Jr., whose office is investigating the events that led to Holohan’s injuries and the accidental firing of his gun, said that during the high-speed chase through parts of Freehold Township and Freehold Borough two patrol cars and five private automobiles were damaged.
Three suspects were arrested after their vehicle was involved in a crash on Route 9 north near the Pond Road shopping center.
All three people in the vehicle — two men and one woman — were charged with conspiracy to commit theft at the Freehold Raceway Mall, Route 9, Honecker said, explaining that authorities believe it was their intent to shoplift at the mall. The two men were also charged with aggravated assault on two police officers and with eluding police, Honecker said. They are each being held in the Monmouth County jail, Waterworks Road, in lieu of $300,000 bail each.
According to Monmouth County Undersheriff Adam Puharic, the three suspects appeared in court on May 12. They were sent back to the jail in lieu of bail. He said Gilbert Rodriguez, 33, of Elizabeth, had his bail set at $325,300; Augustin Comacho, 29, of Newark, had his bail set at $329,005; and Annette Mendez, 37, of Newark, had her bail set at $25,000.
Law enforcement authorities have spent the past 11 days investigating the events of that Saturday afternoon. Honecker related the sequence of events and confirmed that although a number of automobiles were damaged, none of the drivers or passengers required hospital care.
The whole episode began at around 4:20 p.m. when the police got a 911 call from a motorist complaining that a burgundy Honda was been driving erratically on Route 9 south in Manalapan, heading toward Freehold Township.
Officers in two Freehold Township patrol cars spotted the Honda and activated their lights, indicating to the driver that he should pull over. The driver finally pulled over on Throckmorton Street at the bottom of the ramp leading off of Route 9. Police Officer Kevin Cherney went to the driver’s side and Holohan went to the pas-senger side where he issued an order for the driver to put the engine into park.
Honecker said the car was rolling slowly forward so that when the driver did not respond, Holohan reached inside the vehicle to put the gear shift into park. At that moment, the driver stepped on the gas and the passenger became combative. Holohan attempted to draw his gun and at the same time was lifted off his feet and thrown from the car. During that short time sequence, Holohan’s weapon went off, hitting the suspects’ car, Honecker said.
Although nobody was hit, Honecker said any time a police officer discharges his weapon an investigation is made of the circumstances surrounding the incident.
"Holohan was injured as a result of being thrown from the [suspects’] car. He tried to get back into pursuit, but had trouble with his legs," Honecker said.
The suspect took off driving east on Throckmorton Street to Broad Street in Freehold Borough, where he tuned right and drove all the way down to Park Avenue (Route 33), where he turned left. He went to the next intersection and turned left onto West Main Street. The car traveled down West Main Street until it reached Throckmorton Street and turned left heading back toward Route 9, Honecker explained.
Holohan, who by that time had resumed his pursuit of the suspects’ vehicle, remained in pursuit into the borough but lost control of his vehicle at the intersection of West Main and Throckmorton streets and crashed into a fence in front of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. He was attended to by members of the Freehold First Aid and Emergency Squad and transported to CentraState Medical Center, West Main Street, for treatment.
Meanwhile, Freehold Township Police Officer Tom Hartman was driving his patrol car on Throckmorton Street toward the borough when he saw the suspects’ vehicle travel across the center of the road and head for him.
"Hartman drove off onto the right shoulder to avoid a collision, damaging his tire, which caused him to take action to get control of the car, which forced him back across [Throckmorton Street] where he crashed into a curb," Honecker explained.
The suspects’ vehicle, still being pursued, got back onto Route 9 north and collided with four vehicles, causing one of the cars to hit the back of a fifth car, at which point the chase ended in front of the Pond Road shopping center, Honecker said.