Five people, three from New York and two from New Jersey, are facing a slew of charges related to a Bayonne home invasion last night, police said.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Yesterday at 1:16 p.m., a number of Bayonne police officers responded to 300 Constitution Ave, located at the Harbor Pointe residential complex, on a report of a home invasion and kidnapping involving a handgun, began Police Capt. Eric Amato.
As officers arrived, they encountered a woman hysterically screaming down to the officers
from a window of a second floor apartment. She was later identified as a tenant of a nearby second floor apartment who escaped the home invasion and safely retreated to a friend’s apartment.
The victim also advised the officers that her boyfriend was still in their apartment possibly being held at gunpoint by two men. Police then responded to both apartments and determined that both victims were safe and the actors were not present.
According to the victims, the two men, later identified as Donte Brown and Brandon Gidron, forcibly entered the apartment. Upon entering, Brown brandished a handgun and ordered the male victim into the bedroom while demanding the female victim fill a bag with all of their money.
At this time, the female victim explained that Gidron fled the apartment while Brown stayed.
She 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, authorities said.
The victim was able to enter her friend’s apartment down the hall through an unlocked door and phone the police as Brown fled the scene.
Both victims were then turned over to Bayonne Police detectives to continue their investigation. During the investigation, it was also learned that Brown and Gidron had attempted to gain entry to the same apartment the day prior but were unsuccessful.
Armed with knowledge that Brown and Gidron had fled the scene, a methodical and extensive investigation was immediately launched by the Bayonne Police Detective Bureau while patrol officers surrounded and secured the exterior of 300 and 301 Constitution Aves.
The investigation confirmed that the actors had exited 300 Constitution Ave. before the arrival of police and entered 301 Constitution Ave. where they were never seen exiting.
Since it was unknown which apartment the actors had entered, the Hudson County Regional SWAT Team was activated and responded to the scene where they conducted a thorough search and clear of the entire building.
At this time, members of the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit responded to
the scene, as well as an assistant prosecutor for the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office and the Port Authority of NJ/NY Police Department’s ESU.
The investigation ultimately identified the exact apartment Brown and Gidron had
retreated to and determined it was leased to a Zanei Anderson. Anderson was identified as a third man involved in the attempted entry of the victim’s apartment from the day prior.
Shortly after identifying the apartment, Brown, Gidron, and Anderson were all taken into custody, along with Imani Omar – who was found to be in possession of a stun gun. A handgun was recovered from the area as well, officials said.
Throughout the entire incident, detectives were still conducting their investigation of the victims, specifically Jalen N. Booker. They discovered that Booker was involved in criminal activity relating to a scheme involving multiple identity thefts and credit card thefts.
The scheme earned Booker large amounts of cash, which he stored at his residence. 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.
Ultimately, Brown, 22, of Bronx, New York, was charged with robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a firearm, and conspiracy.
Anderson, 23, of Bayonne, was charged with hindering apprehension, while Gidron, 25, of New Rochelle, New York, is accused of robbery, burglary, and conspiracy.
Furthermore, Omar, 20, of Brooklyn, New York, faces two weapons possession charges for having the stun gun, with Booker, 20, of Bayonne, charged with identity theft, credit card theft, and fraudulent use of a credit card.
“The Bayonne Police Department would like to extend deep thanks and appreciation for the timely response and assistance of all involved, namely 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,” Amato said in a statement.
“The Department would also like to thank the several residents of 300 and 301 Constitution Avenue for their understanding, patience, and cooperation while being prevented from entering their apartments until the incident was brought to a safe resolution. Due to the actions of all involved, extremely dangerous individuals who demonstrated an extreme disregard for human life were removed from the community and will be brought to justice
for their actions.”
