Police in Franklin Township, NJ police are looking for a suspect who allegedly attacked a man and stole an SUV.
The male suspect’s criminal actions allegedly began when a 58-year-old woman called Franklin Township police to report that someone had stolen her purse. The woman informed officers that a man approached her and then took her purse while she was exiting a supermarket at the Somerset Plaza.
After speaking with the police, the woman made arrangements to have the locks on her residence doors changed. However, before she could get the locks changed, the suspect allegedly showed up at her house and confronted her 32-year-old son.
Authorities said that the suspect assaulted the woman’s son by using a blunt object to strike him on the head and body. According to police, the suspect then fled on his bicycle, but, remarkably, later returned to the garage and took the woman’s 2011 burgundy RDX Acura. While making his escape with the vehicle, the suspect allegedly slammed the car into the woman’s garage door.
Sometime later, the woman’s son was taken to a local hospital to be treated for his injuries.
If the suspect is eventually caught by police, he could face charges of auto theft and aggravated assault, in addition to other serious charges. In New Jersey, auto theft is addressed by N.J.S.A. 2C:20-3, the state’s general theft statute. As set forth by the statute, theft of an automobile is a third degree criminal offense that is punishable by as many as five years in state prison.
Franklin Township police have asked for the public’s assistance in the investigation. Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to contact police at 732-873-2300.
To learn more about this incident, check out the NJ.com article entitled “Cops: Purse-Snatcher Showed Up at House, Attacked Man, Rammed SUV through Garage Door.“
