FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – An investigation by law enforcement authorities into the beating of a Freehold Township resident determined that the man who was subsequently charged with attempted murder allegedly targeted the township man because of his victim’s race, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
Jamil S. Hubbard, 25, of Sayreville, who is black, has been charged with first degree attempted murder, first degree bias intimidation and third degree possession of a weapon (a motor vehicle) for an unlawful purpose in connection with the May 1 attack on Jerry Wolkowitz, 55, of Freehold Township.
Wolkowitz is a freelance photographer who previously worked for the “News Transcript.”
The assault occurred in the parking lot of Wolkowitz’s Harding Road residence. Wolkowitz is white. The bias intimidation charge is related to the black on white nature of the incident, according to the prosecutor’s office.
A criminal complaint signed by Freehold Township Detective James Burdge states that Hubbard “did commit, attempt to commit, of threaten to commit the crime of murder with a purpose to intimidate an individual (Wolkowitz) or a group of individuals and/or knowing that the conduct would cause an individual or group of individuals to be intimidated because of race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, national origin or ethnicity, contrary to (state law).”
According to Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni, at 7:15 a.m. May 1, Freehold Township police were dispatched to an apartment complex on Harding Road in Freehold Township. Responding officers observed Wolkowitz lying in the parking lot area with injuries to his head and body. Wolkowitz was transported to a local hospital and has remained in critical condition.
An investigation conducted by the prosecutor’s office and the Freehold Township Police Department revealed that Hubbard allegedly approached Wolkowitz from behind and hit him with his fists on his head and face, before dragging Wolkowitz into the parking lot.
Hubbard then allegedly drove his own motor vehicle over Wolkowitz, according to the prosecutor. He then fled the scene in Wolkowitz’s vehicle. The prosecutor said Hubbard drove to Freehold Township, but it is not known what time he arrived in the municipality.
In the wake of the assault, Freehold Township police officers attempted to pursue Hubbard; however, they were not able to stop the vehicle and detain him.
A spokesman for the prosecutor said a check of Hubbard’s license plate from his vehicle left at the scene of the assault led police to contact the Sayreville Police Department. Sayreville officers immediately responded to Hubbard’s residence and he was taken into custody without incident, according to the spokesman.
Wolkowitz’s car was found on Bordentown Avenue in Sayreville. The Middlesex County borough is about 20 miles from Freehold Township.
Following Hubbard’s arrest on May 1, he was placed in the Monmouth County jail, Freehold Township. The prosecutor’s office has filed a motion to keep Hubbard in jail without an opportunity for release pending trial. A detention hearing is scheduled for July 10 before state Superior Court Judge Paul X. Escandon, sitting in Freehold.
Gramiccioni said the investigation that followed the attack on Harding Road determined that Hubbard did not know or have any previous contact with Wolkowitz prior to the attack.
The attack on Wolkowitz was the first of two violent crimes that took place in Freehold Township in the same week.
On the evening of May 3, Sciasia Calhoun, 24, of Freehold Borough, was shot as she drove a vehicle on the Route 33 bypass near Halls Mill Road in Freehold Township. Calhoun died in the early morning hours of May 4.
Kader Mustafa, 36, was arrested on May 4 and charged with murder in connection with Calhoun’s death. A spokesman for the prosecutor said one shot was fired into Calhoun’s vehicle from another moving vehicle, allegedly from Mustafa’s 2005 Chevrolet Impala.
Asked for comment on the two incidents, Freehold Township Mayor Anthony Ammiano said, “We cannot comment on these two ongoing investigations and cases, but will comment that any loss of life and any violence in our community affects us deeply. The Township Committee and I can sincerely affirm that these two random crimes are not indicative of life in Freehold Township.”
