JACKSON – Three young male residents of Jackson and one young male resident of Toms River were arrested following a motor vehicle accident and a fracas that involved multiple police officers in the early morning hours of Oct. 4 in Jackson.
Police said that at 2:48 a.m., Officer Keith French responded to the area of North Point Drive and Eltone Road and observed a 2005 Nissan that had crashed into a metal gate and cement barrier at the Metedeconk National Golf Club.
French saw two males walking away from the vehicle and observed one male carrying a license plate which was later determined to have been taken off the Nissan.
The officer directed the males to stop and return, but they continued to attempt to leave the scene. French approached the males and continued to order them to stop. The two males ignored his orders, according to police.
French caught up with and took hold of one of the males in order to place him in handcuffs. As he did that, he observed a third male quickly approaching the scene from the area of Trumball Court. Police said the male who was approaching French was yelling at the officer.
Police said French recognized the approaching male from previous encounters and observed that he appeared to be agitated. The third male approached French in an aggressive manner with one of the two males who had initially attempted to walk away from the crashed vehicle. At that time French called for assistance.
Police said French placed the male he had already handcuffed on the ground to control him while the other two males approached him. The male who had come from Trumball Court began running around the officer and yelled at French while clenching his fists.
French took control of that male and brought him to the ground, where a brief struggle ensued before the officer was able to handcuff the individual and take him into custody, according to police.
Police said that male continued to resist French’s attempts to control his movements after he was handcuffed. At that time, officers Phil Minissale and Wes Thomason arrived and took the individual into custody.
At the same time, the first male French had handcuffed attempted to leave the scene and was stopped by Thomason. Police said that individual attempted to strike Thomason by thrusting his head and elbows back toward the officer and by kicking his feet at the officer.
Police said a search of the male who had come onto the scene from Trumball Court resulted in the seizure of a folding knife and a butterfly style knife.
A search of the first male French had placed in handcuffs resulted in the seizure of an empty magazine which appeared to belong to an unknown make/model .380 caliber handgun, according to police.
During the ensuing investigation the officers did not locate any weapons in the crashed vehicle or in the surrounding area.
A search of the second male who initially attempted to leave the scene resulted in the seizure of more than $400 cash, a knife and Xanax prescription pills packaged in a manner that police said was consistent with attempted distribution.
Sgt. Michael Friedman and officers Shannon Foote and Michael Goelz arrived at the scene and while they were searching for a handgun the seized ammunition magazine might belong to, the officers encountered three different males outside a residence on Trumball Court.
At that time, one male began yelling and screaming at the officers. Police said he refused to identify himself and kicked at the garage door of the house. That individual was taken into custody after resisting the officers’ attempts to make the arrest, according to police.
Police arrested the following individuals:
• A 19-year-old male resident of Jackson was charged with possession of marijuana, tampering with evidence (swallowing a quantity of marijuana), obstruction, resisting arrest, possession of prohibited weapons and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. He was processed and lodged in the Ocean County Jail, Toms River.
• A 20-year-old male resident of Toms River was charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute and obstruction. He was processed and lodged in the Ocean County Jail.
• A 19-year-old male resident of Jackson was charged with obstruction and resisting arrest. He was processed and released.
• A 24-year-old male resident of Jackson was charged with disorderly conduct, obstruction and resisting arrest. He was processed and released.
Police said Sgt. Mitch Cowit is assisting with the investigation and said additional charges are pending the outcome of the investigation.
