ABDUCTION SUSPECT HELD

Man charged in Lakewood case after arrest in 2nd attack

$1 million bail set for suspect
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 07/20/06

BY RICHARD QUINN
TOMS RIVER BUREAU


The link practically drew itself for Detective Sgt. Steve Daroci.

The Old Bridge policeman had seen the sketch around the office for months, a drawing of a stern-faced man police say kidnapped and then sexually assaulted a woman in Lakewood almost three months ago.

Daroci looked at the drawing again Tuesday afternoon.

Then he looked at Brandon J. Fritz, a 21-year-old sprinkler installer from Lakewood being questioned by Old Bridge police about an attempted sexual assault in their town.

"The similarities were very, very good," Daroci said. "Too good."

So good, in fact, that Fritz has been charged with the abduction and assault of the 20-year-old Lakewood woman from outside her Route 9 workout center on May 7.

In Old Bridge, he is charged with burglary, robbery, theft and attempted aggravated sexual assault, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office. He remained held in Middlesex County Jail on Wednesday night on $1,000,000 bail.

Fritz's arrest brings to a close a 2 1/2-month investigation that had stymied law enforcement, left some residents questioning the efficacy of the Lakewood Police Department and spurred the creation of a neighborhood watch program.

The break in the much-publicized case came Tuesday, when police say Fritz, a single man who lives on Delaware Trail near Lakewood's western boundary with Jackson, broke into an Old Bridge home.

Ocean County Prosecutor Thomas F. Kelaher said he believed Fritz was there to steal a television, but Old Bridge Detective Scott Crocco said, "I don't believe the motive was burglary."

The homeowner wasn't there at the time, but the 48-year-old woman came home shortly after, Crocco said.

The Old Bridge woman said in an interview the man was wearing her pajamas with her underwear over his head.

Fritz attacked her, causing minor injuries, but she fended him off, police said.

"She fought pretty good," Crocco said.

Fritz ran out of the home and fled in a pickup truck, Kelaher said. The woman called Old Bridge police, who learned through their interviews with her that she recognized Fritz from work he had done at the house the day before.

Fritz had duct tape on him when Old Bridge authorities picked him up. In the Lakewood case, the young woman was found with duct tape wrapped around her head and her wrists were bound, Kelaher said.

The commonalities between the cases led Old Bridge to call Lakewood. From there, charges were quickly filed against Fritz in both cases. In Lakewood, the official charges are aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and kidnapping.

"It was just good police work," said Al Peters, Lakewood public safety director. "They put two and two together, called us and we were able to go up there and actually nail everything down."

Kelaher said Wednesday that investigators now want to publicize Fritz's photograph because they believe he may be involved in other similar assaults.

Kelaher said he had no proof of that, just "a sixth sense."

[CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE]

WATCH THE PRESS CONFERENCE

Click on this link to watch the video of the news conference held earlier today with regard to the arrest of the Lakewood assault case:

[CLICK HERE]

NO RESEMBLANCE

[Thank you "anonymous for today's post. To all readers: feel free to comment on any topic; your comment might be our next post - KollelVeib]

Talk about great police work -

Notice how inaccurate the police sketch was? It does not resemble the perpetrator at all! (Except that they both have short hair and stubbly beards - but the actual faces have no connection)

LAKEWOOD MAN HELD IN ASSAULT

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 07/19/06

BY RICHARD QUINN
TOMS RIVER BUREAU

TOMS RIVER — Ocean County authorities today announced the arrest of a Lakewood man
in connection with the May 7 abduction and sexual assault of a Lakewood woman.

Brandon J. Fritz, 21, of Lakewood, is charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and kidnapping. He is being held in lieu of $1 million bail, authorities said.

Authorities said Fritz was arrested yesterday in Old Bridge in a separate case in
which he is charged with burglary, robbery and attempted sexual assault.

Authorities said some similarities between that case and the Lakewood case led them to make the arrest. They did not immediately provide further details.

Authorities said Fritz worked in landscaping and sprinkler installation for a company that may be based in Howell, although no further information on that was immediately available.

On Monday, according to authorities, Fritz went to a home in Old Bridge for a job.
The next day -- Tuesday -- he came back with the intention of stealing a television set.

While he was in the home, a woman living there came home. Fritz became alarmed and left in his pickup truck.

The woman, described as 48 years old, recognized Fritz as the man who had been working on her house. Old Bridge police arrested Fritz and saw similarities between that case and the Lakewood abduction. From there, Lakewood police and the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office got involved.

Fritz is being held in the Middlesex County Jail.

Authorities said there are no indications that the Lakewood abduction was a bias
attack. They also said there were no connections with similar incidents that had
happened previously in New York City.

Today, authorities for the first time said that the Lakewood victim's head had been
duct-taped and her wrists had been bound. Authorities said duct tape was found in
Fritz's possession, though they did not say whether it was on his person or in his
truck.

The woman, described as about 20 years old, was abducted about 9:45 p.m. May 7 outside the Trim Gym health club in the ShopRite plaza at Kennedy Boulevard and Route 9 by a person driving a green Jeep Cherokee, police said at the time.

The woman was sexually assaulted and then returned to the same shopping mall in the morning, police said. The woman was treated at Kimball Medical Center, Lakewood.

ASSAULT CASE SOLVED??!!!

[Thank you "jkj" for this post - To all readers: please post comments on any topic; we may use your comment as our next post. ALSO - please use your head and exhibit the proper sensitivity/respect of privacy when commenting on this topic - KollelVeib]

The perpetrator in the Shoprite Plaza assault of two months back has been caught.

I just heard this rumor . . . details anyone???

NEW TZNIUS TAKANA

[Thank you "anonymous" for today's post. To all readers: please comment on any topic;your comment might be tomorrow's post - KollelVeib]

I have an idea:

Draw bright orange lines with arrows on the sidewalks leading toward the yeshiva. Make all the bochurim/yungeleit wear blinders and make a takana that they can only look down while they walk to the yeshiva.

That should do it.

.

OLD VAAD HAS GOT TO GO?

[Thank you "anonymous for today's post. Please comment on any topic; your comment might become our next post. - KollelVeib]

It's time to focus on establishing the democratically elected Vaad or "Tuvei". It's long overdue, but it's never too late. First we had R' Yisroel Schenkelowski ישר כח that was supposed to represent the ציבור until the Town grew too big for him to handle alone, so a Vaad ישר כח was established that was supposed to represent the interests of the ציבור .

Now we have reached the point when the needs of the entire ציבור should be addressed through an elected Vaad or "Tuvei".