Crime & Safety

5 Bikers Charged After Man Dragged From Car, Assaulted In Hunterdon County: Cops

Clinton Township Police spent nearly three months investigating and fielding tips before making the arrests of the five motorcyclists.

(Clinton Township Police)

CLINTON, NJ — Five motorcyclists were charged in connection with an assault in September where a man was dragged from his car, assaulted, and had his cellphone stolen, Clinton Township Police Chief Thomas A. DeRosa announced.

DeRosa said Monday that the Clinton Township Police Department Investigative Division spent nearly three months investigating tips received from The Hunterdon County Crime Stoppers before making the arrests.

The five motorcyclists were identified as: Moshe Lew, 24, of Brooklyn NY; Bryan Florez, 25, Staten Island, NY; Kumarsarju Jadav, 30, of Staten Island NY; Morkus Abdelmaseh 26, of Staten Island NY; and Jason Kish, 25, of Simpsonville, SC.

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Florez, Jadav, Abdelmaseh, and Kish were charged with second-degree eluding in a motor vehicle and received numerous traffic summonses for traffic violations, including but not limited to reckless driving, speeding, improper passing, driving with a suspended driver’s license, and improper display of registration, committed during the eluding.

Lew received 16 traffic summonses for his role in the incident.

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On Saturday, Sept. 3 at around 10:12 a.m., an assault in progress on Cokesbury Road was reported to the police. Read More: Motorcyclists Drag Man From Car, Assault Him, Steal Cellphone: Cops

The assault happened after a near motor vehicle crash between a car and multiple motorcyclists, said DeRosa.

Police were told a group of motorcyclists had dragged a 62-year-old man from his vehicle, assaulted him, and stole his cellphone, said DeRosa.

Patrolman William Musacchio saw the motorcycles leaving the scene and tried to pull them over on Cokesbury Road in his fully marked patrol car.

The motorcycles did not stop and fled at a high rate of speed on Route 22 West, said DeRosa.

Sgt. Sean Ross saw the motorcycles, about 13 in total, as they approached Petticoat Lane still driving west on Route 22.

Ross chased the motorcycles onto Route 78 West, in his fully marked patrol unit, until they exited onto Route 173, Exit 11, in Union Township. At this point, Ross was able to get a partial New York registration along with the specific make and model of the motorcycle, said DeRosa.

Ross chose to stop the chase to investigate the information further.

The investigation is still ongoing and more criminal charges are under review.

Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-321-0010, going online at CrimeStoppersHunterdon.com, or through the free “P3 Tips” smartphone app. All tips are anonymous and kept confidential.

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