Man Wanted For Sex Assault Charged In Moorestown After Trespassing: PD

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Moorestown Police charged an Atlantic County man who is wanted for sexual assault after he gave police false information and ran from officers, Chief Walter Walczak said.

The investigation began after a homeowner told police the man, identified as Anthony Autuori of Hammonton, was trespassing in his yard Monday.

Police said Autuori, 37, had warrants in Salem City. Salem County jail records show Autuori is in custody on charges of sexual assault, criminal restraint, resisting arrest, and assault.

Moorestown officers charged him with obstruction of administration of law and hindering apprehension, Walczak said in a news release Tuesday.

A Moorestown resident called police on Monday afternoon to say a white man in a gray sweat suit was trespassing on private property. Police responded to the home in the 700 block of Cox Road shortly before 4 p.m., police said.

The homeowner said he saw the man at the rear of his property and approached him to talk.

"The suspect male asked if someone named 'Brittany' lived at the home before running into the adjacent woods toward Yorktown Road," said Moorestown Police.

Around 4:50 p.m., an officer near Creek Road and Borton Landing Road spotted a white male in a gray sweat suit "with the legs of his pants covered in mud."

Officers located and approached the man in the backyard of a property on Miller Court, police said. He gave the officer his wrong name and identifying information before throwing a pocketknife on the ground and running away, according to township police.

The officers were able to take him into custody after a foot chase, police said. They identified him as Autuori once at the Moorestown police headquarters, and have transported him to the Salem City Police Department.

“The vigilance of the residents making the call to police and the duties performed by the officers during this incident proudly demonstrate a commitment to the safety of the Moorestown community,” said Walczak.