TOMS RIVER – What could be described as a road rage incident, led to a Scotch Plains man being charged with aggravated assault according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
Billhimer reported on July 5, that Raziel Mancebo, 27, of Scotch Plains, was charged with aggravated assault and simple assault in relation to a July 4 incident in Toms River.
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit and the Toms River Township Police Detective Bureau revealed that around 9:15 p.m. Mancebo was driving a BMW north on Hazelwood Road at a high rate of speed. The car approached the cross street of Hazelwood Road and Cattus Island Boulevard and stopped at the stop sign.
At this point a resident of the neighborhood, Jason Durante, 50, approached Mancebo. Mancebo and Durante exchanged words and eventually became involved in a fight.
Mancebo also became involved in a physical altercation with 56-year-old resident Alan Stever, striking him. Stever fell to the ground and struck his head on the pavement. Mancebo got back into his car and traveled east on Cattus Island Boulevard.
Further investigation confirmed that Mancebo was responsible for striking both Durante and Stever.
When police arrived, they found Stever unconscious in the roadway with an apparent head injury. He was airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune where he is currently listed in serious but stable condition.
Mancebo surrendered himself on July 7 to the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office. He was processed and charged at the Toms River Police Department and transported to the Ocean County Jail. Mancebo will remain in the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.
Prosecutor Billhimer thanked the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Toms River Township Police Department Patrol Division, Toms River Township Police Department, Toms River Township Police Detective Bureau, Scotch Plains Police Department and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit in this investigation.
