Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office

25 Kirkpatrick Street, 3^rd Floor, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08901 (732) 745-3300

*Press Release* Date: March 13, 2009

Four suspects charged

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan and New Brunswick Police Director Anthony A. Caputo today announced that charges have been filed against four suspects who are accused of firing multiple shots at police officers during a pursuit through North Brunswick and New Brunswick on March 12, 2009.

The four men have been charged with six counts each of attempted murder, and one count each of eluding police and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

The criminal complaints, signed by New Brunswick Detective Mark Pappas, accuse the defendants of firing upon five New Brunswick police officers and a North Brunswick police officer during the pursuit. Probable cause is based on the police investigation and statements provided by witnesses.

The defendants have been identified as: James Phillips Jr., (DOB 3/22/50) Anthony Peterson, (DOB 12/30/65) and James Holmes, (DOB 9/26/54) all of Newark, and James King, (DOB 5/10/56) of East Orange. King initially had been identified as Sammie Dobson, but police subsequently determined that name was an alias.

Phillips, Holmes and King each sustained gunshot wounds and are being treated at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.

Peterson, who was not injured, is being held at the Middlesex County Adult Corrections Center in North Brunswick. All four defendants are waiting for bail to be set on the charges.

The charges filed against the four men represent counts pending against them in Middlesex County. No information is available on any charges that may be pending in other jurisdictions.

A preliminary investigation reveals that North Brunswick and New Brunswick police were advised of a bank robbery at 5:56 p.m. on March 12, 2009, at a Bank of America branch on Route 27 at Veronica Avenue in Franklin Township in Somerset County.

Franklin Township and North Brunswick police became involved in the pursuit of the suspects, who headed into New Brunswick, where city police officers became involved in the pursuit.

New Brunswick officers followed the suspects’ vehicle onto Delafield Street, which ends at the rear of Saint Peter’s University Hospital. The suspects’ vehicle, a 1996 green Ford Windstar, crashed into a security gate, and the four suspects got out of the van. One or more of them began firing at the police officers, who returned the gunfire.

The suspects ran to nearby Guilden Street, where they were apprehended by the officers. None of the officers was injured. The injured defendants were quickly taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

At the scene of the shooting, police recovered four weapons, including handguns and a semi-automatic weapon.

An investigation into the shooting is continuing. The state Attorney General’s Office has been notified in accordance with applicable guidelines.

In addition to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and New Brunswick police, authorities from North Brunswick, Franklin Township, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and the FBI are conducting investigations.

Anyone with information is asked to call New Brunswick Detective Pappas at (732) 745-5217, or Investigator Scott Crocco, of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, at (732) 745-4471.

As is the case with all criminal defendants, Phillips, Peterson, King and Holmes are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Holmes, James

King, James

Peterson, Anthony

Phillips, James