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The female victim was screaming to officers from the window of a neighbor at the Harbor Points apartments that her boyfriend was still in their second-floor unit and possibly being held at gunpoint around 1:15 p.m., Thursday, Bayonne police Capt. Eric Amato said.
All victims were safe when officers arrived to the building at 300 Constitution Ave., Amato said. but The gunmen, however, had left.
The suspects -- later identified as Donte Brown and Brandon Gidron -- forcibly entered the apartment, police said. Brown brandished a handgun and ordered the male victim to the bedroom and told the female to fill a bag with all the money from the bedroom, Amato said.
That was when Gidron fled.
"The female refused to comply with Brown’s demands and fled the apartment, with Brown now turning the gun on her and giving chase, dropping a bag that contained some money from the bedroom before exiting the apartment," Amato said.
The woman was able to enter her friend’s apartment down the hall through an unlocked door and call the police, Amato said. The victims did not know the suspects, according to police.
Meanwhile, Brown fled the scene, and both victims were then turned over to Bayonne Police Detectives to continue their investigation.
The investigation found Brown and Gidron had attempted to gain entry to the victims’ apartment Monday, but were unsuccessful.
An extensive search for Brown and Gidron around Bayonne was launched, as police secured the exterior of 300 and 301 Constitution Ave., Amato said.
The Hudson County Regional S.W.A.T. Team also responded for a thorough top-to-bottom search and evacuation of the building.
The investigation ultimately identified the exact apartment Brown and Gidron had retreated to and found it was leased to Zanei Anderson, who was identified as a third male involved in the attempted entry Monday.
Brown, Gidron, and Anderson were all taken into custody from the apartment a short while later, as was Imani Omar, who was in possession of a stun gun. A handgun was recovered from the area as well.
Throughout the entire incident, detectives were still conducting their investigation of the victims, specifically the male, Jalen N. Booker, who was involved in criminal activity relating to a scheme involving multiple identity thefts and credit card thefts, Amato said.
The scheme earned Booker large amounts of cash which he kept at his home, police said. A substantial amount of cash believed to be proceeds of this criminal activity was seized from the apartment by detectives.
He was charged accordingly and lead the detectives to believe that the home invasion was a targeted attack and not random.
The five individuals are facing the following charges:
Donte Brown:
- Robbery
- Aggravated Assault
- Burglary
- Possession of a Firearm for an Unlawful Purpose
- Unlawful Possession of a Firearm
- Conspiracy
Brandon J. Gidron:
- Robbery
- Burglary
- Conspiracy
Zanei Anderson:
- Hindering Apprehension
Imani K. Omar:
- Possession of a Prohibited Weapon (Stun Gun)
- Unlawful Possession of a Weapon
Jalen N. Booker:
- Identity Theft
- Credit Card Theft
- Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, the Hudson County S.W.A.T. Team, Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, Port Authority of NY/NJ Police Department, and the management staff of Harbor Pointe assisted in the investigation.
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