more news on the situation
Three people released from custody in New Brunswick standoff
3/23/2005, 8:41 p.m. ET
The Associated Press
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — The three people authorities took into custody after a purported hostage-taking in an apartment house here were released by early Wednesday morning, the house's owner said.
Advertisement
The girl police thought they were rescuing from an armed rape, and the two young men they thought were her assailants were released without charges, said Richard Simon, the homeowner.
"It doesn't seem to anyone there was anyone held hostage there," Simon said.
Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan did not return several phone messages seeking comment Wednesday. In a written statement issued Wednesday, Kaplan said the events surrounding the incident were still unclear, and no arrests had been made.
One of the young men released from custody was the girl's brother, said Simon, who has rented an apartment to their father, David Wilson, for about two years. Wilson's two teenage children have lived with him for about a year, Simon said.
Police barricaded a city block and surrounded the three-story apartment house for much of Tuesday after a girl telephoned authorities at 10:48 a.m. to report that she was handcuffed to a bed and being raped.
That call was interrupted by a man who hung up the phone, Kaplan said in a brief press conference at the scene Tuesday. A few minutes later a man inside the house calling himself Carlos phoned police.
"He said he had weapons, and if anyone came near the house, he would not only kill the child but also anyone who attempted to gain access to the house," Kaplan said.
Simon, who watched much of the drama unfold from his law office next door to the house, said Wilson got his children and the third person to surrender at around 4:25 p.m. Tuesday. Witnesses saw the two young men taken away in handcuffs, and the girl led away by police.
Simon, who described Wilson as a good tenant, said the overwhelming feeling among tenants and neighbors Wednesday was relief that no one was hurt or killed.
"But there was a lot of inconvenience, a lot of waste of manpower and resources," Simon said. "We're still trying to find out how this happened and why this happened."
Two phone numbers listed for Wilson were disconnected Wednesday.
Police barricaded a city block and surrounded the three-story apartment house for much of Tuesday after a girl telephoned authorities at 10:48 a.m. to report that she was handcuffed to a bed and being raped.
That call was interrupted by a man who hung up the phone, Kaplan said in a brief press conference at the scene Tuesday. A few minutes later a man inside the house calling himself Carlos phoned police.
"He said he had weapons, and if anyone came near the house, he would not only kill the child but also anyone who attempted to gain access to the house," Kaplan said.