KEARNY —
Just 27 hours after a woman was shot and wounded near the intersection of Wilson and Kearny Aves. on Friday, Kearny police arrested a suspect, identified as Rhudell Cruz-Snelling, 25, of 147 Kearny Ave.
He has been remanded to the Hudson County Jail on $100,000 bail — full, no 10%.
According to the KPD, a report of gunshots being fired at Kearny and Wilson came in shortly after midnight Friday, June 3. Responding units found no one present at that location, but they did observe blood on the ground.
A short while later, University Hospital in Newark contacted the KPD to report that a female victim with a gunshot wound to her hand was being treated there. She was subsequently released.
Police said that after she was shot, the 21-year-old Kearny woman had apparently phoned friends, who drove her to the hospital.
Television news reports described the incident as a robbery and shooting, but police said that apparently was not the case. In a statement released Friday afternoon, the KPD noted that “all indications are that this is not a random act or street-level crime, and that the involved parties may know one another.”
The investigation, including the viewing of security videos from the area, led to police developing Cruz-Snelling as the prime suspect, and at 3 a.m. Saturday, KPD detectives and members of the Tactical Services and Vice units executed arrest and search warrants at his residence.
He was taken into custody without incident.
Police said he was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes, possession of a CDS, and receiving stolen property. At press time, no further details were available, however law enforcement sources told The Observer that Cruz-Snelling has “an extensive history” of arrests for weapons possession, resisting arrest and aggravated assault.
The investigation is continuing and the KPD asked that anyone with information contact the department at 201-998-1313.
“All information will remain confidential,” police said.
