Stabbing suspect arrested
Violent crimes continue on boro's west side
BY MELISSA KARSH Staff Writer

RED BANK - While others were toasting to health and happiness with family and friends on New Year's, an altercation between acquaintances led to the stabbing of a 26-year-old male in the borough just after midnight, according to the Red Bank Police Department.

As a result of an investigation by Red Bank police, Ruben Johnson, 40, of Red Bank, was arrested Jan. 4 for the stabbing incident, which occurred in the area of Drs. James Parker Boulevard between BridgeAvenue and ShrewsburyAvenue at about 12:07 a.m. on Jan. 1, according to police.

The victim, who was temporarily staying on Drs. James Parker Boulevard, was involved in an altercation with several people he was familiar with, and sometime during that struggle he was stabbed, according to a press release from the department.

The victim had a stab wound to the torso and was treated by the Red Bank First Aid Squad, according to police.

This incident follows a string of burglaries on the west side of the borough, and several other violent crimes such as the December robbery of a ShrewsburyAvenue music store during which the store owner was stabbed and bound, and the November shootings of two young men at a Tilton Avenue housing complex that left them in critical but stable condition.

In the wake of the shootings, a vigil by community members was held Dec. 7 at theMontgomery Terrace housing complex where the shootings took place. A community forum is scheduled this month to address the issue of violent crimes in the west side community.

The latest victim of violence on the borough's west side was transported to Jersey Shore Medical Center Trauma Unit, where he remained as of Jan. 3, according to police.

Johnson was charged with aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, according to police.

Detective Joey Fields led the investigation.

Johnson will be transferred to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Freehold Township; bail was set at $40,000, according to police.