Three Plead Guilty in Cop Shootout

Three men have pleaded guilty to charges of armed robbery and attempted murder in relation to a bank robbery in Franklin Township that resulted in a chase through North Brunswick and New Brunswick.

According to a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, Anthony Peterson, 47 and James Holmes, 58, both of Newark, and James King, also known as Abdullah Muhammad, 56, of East Orange, each pleaded guilty on March 12 to one count of armed robbery and three counts of attempted murder for firing on police officers.

They are to be sentenced on April 29.

The robbery took place at 5:56 p.m. on March 12, 2009 at a Bank of America location on Route 27 and Veronica Avenue in Franklin Township.

Officers from Franklin Township and North Brunswick pursued the suspects into New Brunswick, and were joined by New Brunswick officers, who followed the 1996 Ford Windstar to the end of Delafield Street, where it crashed into a security gate near Saint Peter's University Hospital, the release said. 

The suspects got out of the van, and "one or more" of them opened fire on the officers - Michael Coppola and Adam Ramirez of the New Brunswick Police Department and Steven Dunkel of the North Brunswick Police Department -  who returned fire, the release said.

None of the officers were injured.

The suspects were apprehended on Guilden Street. Holmes and King were wounded and taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, and have recovered from their injuries, the release said.

Holmes, King and Peterson also pleaded guilty to being certain persons not to have weapons, as each of them had previously served prison terms for various offenses and were banned by law from having weapons, the release said.

They were charged with carrying five guns during the robbery, including semi-automatic weapons and a sawed-off shotgun.

A fourth man charged in the robbery - James Phillips Jr. - died April 4, 2009 from two gunshot wounds, the release said.

The defendants will be sentenced to serve up to 20 years in state prison and must serve 85 percent of their sentences before becoming eligible for parole, the release said.

Director Anthony Caputo of the New Brunswick Police Department had high praise for all the officers and law enforcement involved.

"When one thinks of a ‘cops and robbers shootout,’ one thinks of the movies or a late night television show, but when the shootout is for real and on your front lawn, people can get hurt," Caputo said, in a prepared statement. "The final outcome on March 12, 2009 could have been very different with many innocent people getting hurt. Instead, because of training, experience, and overall excellent police work, we were able to neutralize the suspects without any residents or police officers being harmed."

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