Posted on 11/24/2004 6:33:37 AM PST by presidio9
TRENTON -- The alleged gunman who was cut in half by an enraged fathers SUV Sunday was an escapee from an East Orange halfway house, police said yesterday.
Police confirmed the identity of the dead suspect as Jose Alvarez, of Trenton, who would have celebrated his 20th birthday yesterday.
Police said Alvarez was mowed down by Robert ONeal, 54, in his Dodge Durango Sunday night, following an alleged robbery, shooting and car chase that ended with Alvarez killed along a southbound lane of Route 29.
The identity of the dead suspect was just one of the new details which emerged in the case which resulted in the closure of Route 29 for several hours and has had police working tirelessly trying to piece the case together.
In another twist revealed yesterday, the $1,500 initially reported stolen from ONeal during the robbery was never actually stolen. The money was in fact found by ONeal yesterday in his home, ONeal and police confirmed last night.
ONeal says he thought the cash was bundled in with his credit cards allegedly stolen by the suspects and was missing.
Two other suspects in the botched robbery attempt turned fatal -- Kyle Gibson, 19, of Hamilton and a 15-year-old from the city -- were arrested and charged with robbery and weapons offenses.
Police have maintained that felony murder charges could be issued for those involved in the robbery, which may have precipitated Alvarezs death, but they said that was unlikely.
Meanwhile, one suspect, possibly nicknamed "Black," had yet to be apprehended as of last night.
A Department of Corrections spokesman said yesterday that Alvarez escaped from the "fieldhouse" facility in East Orange on Aug. 10, after serving nearly three years at the state prison in Rahway for an armed robbery he committed in 2000.
According to DOC spokesman Matt Schuman, Alvarez was transferred from East Jersey State Prison to the Talbot Hall treatment facility in Kearny on June 6, and then to the East Orange Facility in August.
ONeal, the namesake son of a retired Trenton detective, has not been charged in connection with the death of Alvarez, said Casey DeBlasio of the county prosecutors office.
DeBlasio, along with high-ranking members of the Trenton Police Department, said no decisions concerning any additional charges will be made until the investigation into the incident is concluded.
"The organizational response to this incident is that it is an ongoing investigation and our detectives are tirelessly continuing with their investigation," said Sgt. Pedro Medina. "They are still collecting evidence and speaking with witnesses."
In the aftermath of the death, some -- including local talk-radio shows -- have lauded ONeal as a hero, who they say braved death in the name of his family.
During interviews Monday, a teary-eyed ONeal said the alleged bandits crossed the line when they "put a gun in my face and threatened to rape my kids... I just couldnt take it anymore."
Police said ONeal had a gun jammed in his face moments after he escorted his two daughters, ages 16 and 17, into the house.
After being robbed, police said ONeal jumped into his SUV and chased the suspects getaway station wagon, dodging bullets as Alvarez fired shots from a rear window.
After both vehicles rumbled onto a grass median on Route 29, the suspects hopped out and fled, while Alvarez again fired shots at ONeal and his oncoming SUV. Moments later, Alvarez was dead, and police would then find his body torn from the waist down, partially deposited in a ditch.
"(ONeal) stared evil down... its in his genes, I can see where he got (his courage)," said Lt. Joseph Valdora, vice president of the Trenton Superior Officers Association, adding that ONeals police blood makes him like an "extended family member."
"He was not going to be a victim," Valdora said. "Unfortunately things turned out the way they did... but he felt he had to protect his family."
Valdora said the citys police unions have started a collection fund for ONeal, under the name of the Bob ONeal Fund, to help with the repairs to his damaged vehicle and get him back to work.
ONeal is reportedly a union iron worker with Local 68, whose familys sole means of transportation was the Dodge, the front end of which was damaged when it struck and severed the gunman.
Valdora said he hopes the police union will be able to present ONeal with a nicecheck just before Christmas.
Meanwhile, 19-year-oldGibson, a novice barber by trade,is behind bars in lieu of $150,000 bail. DeBlasio said if Gibson is not bailed out by the weekend, he will go before a Superior Court judge Monday for a bail hearing.
Gibson was hired at Barber Shop II in Mercerville just over a week ago, and owners of the shop said he attended one training session but never returned to work.
"All of us are totally shocked... To be honest he seemed like a regular guy," said shop owner Joe Stica. "He was 19, just a kid from Hamilton... I cant believe hed be mixed up in something like this."
Stica said he barely knew Gibson, but agreed to hire him on a part-time basis.
"Im just glad that no innocent bystanders were hurt," Stica said, adding that his shop has put up $500 to the fund to help ONeal. "I feel really bad that guy had to go through all of that trouble... just shocking."
...police working tirelessly trying to piece the case together.
< rimshot >
I'm glad to see they have their priorities in order.
I just hope they catch the SOB that got away, before he tries to take revenge on the O'Neal family.
Change the fact pattern to say O'Neal, in addition to cutting the bad guy in half with his SUV, also mowed down some granny in a crosswalk while on his murderous rampage, and see how you feel about this case.
Or are you of the opinion that the bad guy was the only person likely to be killed here?
O'Neal ought to go to jail for a good long time.
If O'Neal comes under the slightest bit of persecution, there ought to be a public outcry so loud it can be heard from coast to coast.
Hell, O'Neal is a National Hero in eyes of law abiding citizens everywhere!
I'm confused here - I'm not saying this guy was wrong to protect his family, but I'm surprised that the police are backing this man. I thought once the immediate danger was over you pretty much lost your ability to "fight back"...... While reading I kept expecting to see where this father who had been robbed was going to be accused of murder............
Ahh. The hypothetical to respond to. Let's stick with the facts.
Perp cut in half? He won't have any more crime victims. Good riddance.
O'Neal is a son of a cop. They protect their own. 'Nuff said.
Every time I come across an article about one of these evil machines engaging in a random act of violence, I am compelled to post it.
I'm not so sure the immediate danger was over since he was still being shot at. If someone was shooting at me and I was in a moving car, I just might head for him with the vehicle, and I'm certainly not a bloodthirsty sort.
I have a feeling that if O'Neal wasn't the son of a cop, he would have been charged. And that is tragic, because all of us have the right to defend our famalies and property.
And a Jersey cop.........
The bad guy WAS the only person killed here. What if the dead guy would later have learned the error of his ways and took up the priesthood? What if the dead bad guy had lived to later find a cure for cancer, what if, what if what if...
What ifs on the one hand and facts on the other. I'll take facts.
"(ONeal) stared evil down... its in his genes, I can see where he got (his courage),"
genes, or JEANS - It took a pair to do what he did unarmed.
So did they send him back to the halfway house?
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