Keyport Stop & Shop Stabbing Suspect Charged, Victim Stable

HAZLET, NJ - Witness descriptions, residential video footage and a seven-hour manhunt led by various police units from across the Bayshore led to the arrest of a man accused of a Tuesday afternoon stabbing in Keyport, authorities said.

William Potts, 51, was charged by the Keyport Detective Bureau with aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose following Tuesday’s manhunt in Hazlet.

According to a statement from the Keyport Police Department, at approximately 1:22 p.m. on July 6, officers responded to the Route 36 Stop & Shop food store for a report of a female being assaulted with a knife. Upon arrival, officers provided immediate medical treatment for a stab wound while medical services transported the victim to the hospital.

The victim is in stable condition and currently still hospitalized, police said. Potts allegedly fled the scene, resulting in a foot chase between Shoreland Cemetery and Airport Plaza. Multiple police departments searched the area of Airport Plaza in the woods, including multiple K-9 units and a state police helicopter, according to Hazlet police.

“Numerous witnesses provided officers on scene a description of the incident along with a description of the accused subject. Officers were able to locate video footage that helped to track the subject to the area of the Shore Lands Cemetery in Hazlet Township,” Keyport police said.

Potts was finally reported behind St. John's United Methodist Church on Florence Avenue at around 7:21 p.m. when Hazlet's Deputy Chief Robert Mulligan spotted him and took the 51-year-old into custody with the help of Sgt. Robert Dickens and Patrolman Megan Quinn.

“With the assistance of the public, various municipal, county, and state law enforcement agencies, the subject was apprehended.”

Agencies credited with assisting the effort include police units from Keyport, Hazlet, Union Beach, Middletown, Matawan, the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office and the New Jersey State Police.