Toms River Police Searching for Attempted Murder Suspect: On December 28, 2014 at 1233 am Patrol Officer Louis Taranto responded to the Hess Gas station located at 58 Route 27 East. The initial report was for a car crash. Upon arrival it was determined that there was, in fact, a car crash however it arose out of a domestic violence incident. It was determined that 44 year old James Crudup, who resides on the 700 block of Bay Avenue with his 35 year old girlfriend had fled the scene in his vehicle. Mr. Crudup and the female had pulled into the Hess parking lot and exited the truck. Police spokesman Ralph Stocco states that they immediately became involved in a verbal altercation resulting in the woman being thrown to the ground and choked by Crudup. The woman got up and ran towards the gas pumps. Mr. Crudup entered his truck, put it in reverse, and drove towards her. A gas attendant tried to push her out of the way however the vehicle still struck her leaving her pinned between the bumper and the gas pump. Stocco goes on to report that Crudup backed up, freeing her momentarily, but then drove at her again as she was lying on the ground. He ran over her legs and also struck the gas pumps and Kiosk a second time. He again backed away but drove at her once more, striking her a third time before fleeing West on Route 37. The woman was taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center by Toms River EMS Unit Med 11 for treatment of her injuries, which do not appear to be life threatening at this time. Toms River Police Detectives Randy Petrick and Mark Bajada continued the investigation along with Ocean County Prosecutors Officer Detective Proto and Sheriffs CIU Officer Scutti. According to Stocco, They charged James Crudup with Attempted Murder as well as numerous motor vehicle violations. Crudups bail was set at $500,000 and he remains wanted on these charges. He was last seen operating the 2000 Brown Dodge Durango. Crudup is a black male, 5’ 10”, and weighs approximately 250 pounds. He has brown eyes and very short black hair. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to call 911 or your local police department immediately.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 17:48:52 +0000