SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Two South Brunswick police officers who were investigating a robbery were attacked by the suspect who allegedly refused commands to surrender.
The suspect had allegedly robbed the front desk manager and assaulted people in the lobby of Hotel Vincenza on Route 1 on March 18 prior to fleeing to a hotel room, according to information provided by the South Brunswick Police Department.
When Officer Brooke LaBell and Officer Craig Cleffi arrived at the hotel around 12:07 p.m., the hotel manager reportedly told the officers that Kevin Thompson-Perry, 27, of West Paterson, had assaulted two employees and a juvenile while stealing cash from the register. The manager said Thompson-Perry had fled the lobby and headed back to his hotel room, according to police.
LaBell and Cleffi went to the room where the officers purportedly instructed Thompson-Perry to exit the room, according to reports. Cleffi entered the room and allegedly encountered Thompson-Perry in a fighting stance. Thompson-Perry reportedly knocked Cleffi into a wall, police said. Cleffi and LaBell wrestled Thompson-Perry to the ground as he spit at them, police have alleged. The officers were able to subdue Thompson-Perry and get him handcuffed, according to the statement.
Thompson-Perry was charged with robbery, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, resisting arrest, throwing bodily fluids at a law enforcement officer, simple assault and burglary. He was lodged in the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick.
