Man charged with trying to drag woman into Route 46 bathroom, assaulting Lodi police

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: A 28-year-old transient grabbed a woman’s buttocks on a bus and then tried to drag her into the bathroom of a Route 46 service station in Lodi, all the while calling her his wife in Spanish, authorities said.

Photo Credit: *Cliffview Pilot File Photo*

Jerry DeMarco

08/03/2015 6:16 p.m.

Edwin Pagan ran from the scene but was quickly caught by responding officers just before 10 p.m. Saturday, Lt. Robert Salerno said this afternoon.

The woman told them that she and her husband were on the bus to go home, attempting to pay their fare, when Pagan — who was already seated — reached over and grabbed her, Salerno said.

The couple decided to get off at the next stop, outside the BP station on westbound Route 46, where Pagan grabbed the woman by the shoulders and tried to drag her into the bathroom before fleeing, he said.

Officers assisted by their Hasbrouck Heights colleagues grabbed him on Garibaldi Avenue.

While at headquarters, Pagan “became combative and assaulted several of our officers,” Salerno said.

Pagan was being held on $50,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail, charged with criminal sexual contact and two counts of aggravated assault on police.

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