North Brunswick Men Fired Gun At Teens In Pot Deal, Police Say

NORTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — Two men from North Brunswick were charged with robbing a man at gunpoint Friday in a park in Bernardsville, in what police say was a marijuana drug deal gone bad, according to Somerset County Prosecutor Michael Robertson.

Cristopher Gomez-Madrid, age 19, of Pardun Road in North Brunswick and Marcus Bailey, 20, of Stoneybrook Way were arrested and charged.

The incident happened last Friday, Feb. 28 in Kiwanis Park in Bernardsville. At 4:30 p.m. that day, police got a 911 call of shots fired in the area of Kiwanis Park, and found four juvenile victims, all seventeen, who said they were robbed.

Police say the four juveniles traveled to Kiwanis Park to meet with Bailey and Gomez-Madrid. The meeting was pre-arranged through social media to purchase a quantity of marijuana.

Upon arrival at Kiwanis Park, two of the juveniles entered their car, where Gomez-Madrid displayed a knife and Bailey showed a gun while demanding their money. The two juveniles handed over thirty dollars and ran back towards their vehicle. As all the juveniles were running, Bailey fired one shot hitting their car, said police.

The juveniles ran past their car and Gomez-Madrid and Bailey entered the car, taking three cell phones along with a backpack, said police.

None of the victims were injured during the event. Police got a description of the suspects' car, which had fled south on 287. Police detained their car and inside the vehicle, police said they found a 9 mm firearm, an airsoft gun and marijuana. A knife was located on Gomez-Madrid.

Both suspects were taken into custody without incident.

Gomez-Madrid and Bailey were each charged with two counts of first-degree robbery, multiple weapons charges and possession of marijuana.