Assault after he invaded her home, police told

Thursday, January 08, 2009
By AMY SARA CLARK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A man was arrested after he broke into a 44-year-old woman's Carteret Avenue apartment Tuesday and she chased him to another apartment, reports said.

Mike Holmes, 39, of Vreeland Terrace in Jersey City, was charged with burglary and robbery, reports said.

Holmes began knocking on the woman's door just after 4:30 p.m., yelling, "Let me in! Let me in now!" reports said.

The woman asked him to identify himself, and in response he began "kicking the door violently," at which point the woman called the police, reports said.

The man kicked in the door and began punching the woman in the face, yelling "Give me your keys, give me all your (expletive)," reports said.

When the woman fought back, the man grabbed her keys and ran out, according to the report.

The woman chased the man down the hall and the man threw the keys to the floor and then locked himself in another apartment, reports said.

The police arrived and arrested Holmes in that apartment without incident, reports said.

The woman did not show any visible signs of injuries and refused medical attention, reports said.

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Shot in chest, he begs merchant: 'Please, help me'

Thursday, January 08, 2009
By AMY SARA CLARK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Shot twice, at least once in the chest, a man stumbled into a convenience store at the corner of Myrtle and Ocean avenues in Jersey City yesterday shortly after 4:30 p.m. pleading for help, officials said.

"He's coming over here like, 'Please help me, help me,'" said George Apycoy, who was inside the Ocean Mini Mart when the man, who Apycoy thought was about 40 years old, came in.

"To me it looked like play, but it wasn't no play," Apycoy said, adding that he had heard two shots, sounding like a "pop pop" outside.

The man was listed in critical but stable condition at the Jersey City Medical Center, officials said.

Corey Bell, 19, who lives three blocks away, said shootings are far too common in his neighborhood.

"My birthday is the 26th. Hopefully I'll make it until then," he said.

Police, who did not release the name of the victim last night, are investigating the shooting, officials said.

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Woman shown a knife, robbed

AMY SARA CLARK
Jersey Journal
Thursday, January 08, 2009

A 25-year-old Jersey City woman handed over a wallet containing $20 cash and ID after a robber threatened her with a knife, reports said.

The woman was walking on Morton Place at about 1 a.m. when the man walked up to her and asked for her wallet, reports said.

At first she refused, but relented after the man showed a knife, reports said.