Quantcast
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 7220

N.J. man accused of posing as a cop, beating woman and stealing her car

John Spina faces multiple charges, including attempted murder, in the alleged Tuesday carjacking that started in an Edison parking lot

SAYREVILLE -- A 44-year-old borough man allegedly flashed a badge and gun to get a woman to roll down her window in an Edison parking lot Tuesday afternoon before beating her and stealing her car, according to authorities.

John Spina faces multiple charges, including attempted murder, in the alleged Tuesday carjacking that started in the Wick Plaza shopping mall and ended after running the stolen car off the road in Sayreville, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey said in a statement Wednesday.

Spina allegedly drove from the Route 1 lot after punching the woman multiple times at about 1:15 p.m. Sayreville police spotted the woman's car on Washington Road just over an hour later, Carey said. 

When police tried to stop Spina, he allegedly sped away, sideswiped two cars and crashed head-on into another before running the car off the road, according to the statement. 

Spina then got out of the car, which was stuck in some roadside shrubbery, and tried to run, police said. 

Spina was also charged with carjacking, aggravated assault, impersonating an officer and four weapons-related counts, Carey said. 

During his pretrial release hearing in Middlesex County Superior Court Wednesday, the prosecutor's office said Spina was recently released from prison on a robbery conviction from 1999 and another carjacking case in 2001.

He was sent to Middlesex County jail until his bail hearing, which is scheduled for Friday. 

The woman was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital where she was treated and released. The driver of the vehicle hit head-on was taken to Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge for minor injuries. 

Craig McCarthy may be reached at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig and on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook 

 

 

Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 7220

Trending Articles



<script src="https://jsc.adskeeper.com/r/s/rssing.com.1596347.js" async> </script>