Quote:

Sounds like the plot to a Tarantino film.

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Jersey City needs a one-strike policy.

"A gun, a 30-inch sword, and 130 bags of cocaine"

This could be the best headline ever...

DAMN. That's some 36 chambers sh&t.

do they have the one strike policy in jc projects? they should

A gun, a 30-inch sword, and 130 bags of cocaine

After man is slashed with sword, police find barricaded apt. full of drugs

Michael D. Mullins
Hudson Reporter
01/27/2008

SLASHING OUT ? After allegedly slashing a man with a sword in the stairway of 310 Marshall Drive, 26-year-old Jersey City resident Jamerson Ladson (inset) was taken to the Hudson County Correctional Facility to await his day in court. What initiated the alleged savage attack has yet to be determined.

In the wee hours of Sunday, Jan. 20, while most of Hoboken was fast asleep, a 26-year-old man from Jersey City allegedly slashed another man across the chest using a 30-inch sword. The situation soon got worse: police traced a suspect to an upstairs apartment in the Hoboken housing projects, had to push in a door that was barricaded with furniture, and found drug paraphernalia, counterfeit money, and more than 100 bags of drugs.

The person whose name is on the lease for the federally subsidized apartment is now being evicted, and the man who was hiding in the apartment was taken to jail.

The incident occurred at approximately 3:30 a.m. at 310 Marshall Drive. A Hoboken Housing Authority resident who knew the victim called police after the slashing.

When police arrived at the scene, Capt. Anthony Romano, along with several other officers, found the victim severely injured. The 29-year-old man from Union City was sitting in the kitchen of a fifth floor apartment, bleeding profusely from several lacerations to his body.

One Hoboken Housing Authority (HHA) employee who saw the blood-stained stairway said, "It looked like someone spilt their guts out all over the stairs. The guy must have stayed there for a minute or two as the blood gushed out of him."

The victim was treated at the scene by medics from the Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corps before being rushed to the Jersey City Medical Center. He has subsequently been released.

According to Sgt. Samuel Williams, the Union City victim, who has no arrest record, said he was visiting the HHA with his friend to watch the Felix Trinidad vs. Roy Jones Jr. fight Saturday night.

The victim could not say what initiated the attack. He said only that he was speaking with a friend in the hallway, when a man holding a sword and a gun attacked him for no apparent reason.

The suspect

After securing the area, police conducted a building-wide search, which turned up a bloody doorknob on a fourth-floor apartment.

But the apartment had been barricaded shut with furniture.

Sgt. Michael Costello notified Assistant Hudson County Prosecutor Kelly Simpson of the situation at hand, who subsequently granted permission to the police to gain entry into the apartment.

Not knowing how many individuals could be waiting in the apartment, the Hoboken police called in the Port Authority's elite Emergency Services Unit, which is similar to a SWAT team.

Inside, authorities found 26-year-old Jersey City resident Jamerson Ladson, who allegedly had barricaded himself in the apartment with the furniture. Although there was no incident between police and Ladson during the arrest, Ladson allegedly began yelling at police, saying, "That's right, I sliced that mother------," according to Williams.

Ladson was informed of his Miranda Rights; however, he continued to allegedly repeat variations of the statement above as he was hauled away by the authorities, police said.

The 30-inch sword believed to have been used in the attack was allegedly thrown out the apartment's back window and recovered by officer John Hermann, who was covering the building's back entrance, according to Romano.

In the apartment, police recovered thirteen .32 caliber rounds, one .45 caliber round, and a bulletproof vest. The handgun that the victim had reported seeing was not found.

In addition to the weapons, police found $480 in cash and $420 of counterfeit currency; 105 bags of a substance believed to be marijuana, and a digital scale, which according to a police source, is often used by those who manufacture and distribute drugs.

Ladson, who according to Williams has prior drug convictions, was taken to headquarters, where he allegedly continued to rant, telling police that, if he "saw the punk ass again, [he] would do the same thing all over again." At the station, police conducted a search incident to arrest, and found Ladson to allegedly be in possession of 130 bags of cocaine, they said.

What was a JC resident doing there?

Ladson lives in Jersey City, not in the projects. The apartment belongs to a resident who is currently being evicted, Hoboken Housing Authority officials said (see sidebar).

Ladson was charged with aggravated assault, forgery, possession of a weapon, possession of a controlled dangerous substance believed to be marijuana, possession of a controlled dangerous substance believed to be cocaine, possession of a controlled dangerous substance with the intent to distribute, possession of a controlled dangerous substance with the intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school zone, possession of a controlled dangerous substance with the intent to distribute within 500 feet of public housing, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The 26-year-old was subsequently taken to the county correctional facility in Kearny, where he will be meeting with members of the Secret Service with regards to allegedly counterfeit money that police said was found in the apartment.

Police are currently investigating the situation and ask that anyone with further information contact the Hoboken Detective Bureau at (201) 420-2110. All information will be kept confidential.

Resident will be evicted because of crime in apt.

After hearing about the attack earlier in the week, Hoboken Housing Authority Deputy Director Carmelo Garcia said, "It's an unfortunate incident, that we're doing everything in our power to prevent from happening again."

The Hoboken Housing Authority manages Hoboken's 1,383 federally subsidized apartments, under guidance and funding from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Since taking the job earlier this year, Garcia has pledged to rid the projects of the drug culture, and focus on increasing the quality of life there for the law-abiding residents.

Garcia said that the people involved in last weekend's attack were visiting HHA residents without first receiving authorization from the Housing Authority.

Now, the resident who apparently allowed Ladson to stay with him is in the process of being evicted through the one-strike policy, said Garcia. The "one-strike" policy forces residents to be evicted if they or someone in their household is arrested for a drug offense and/or violent crime.

"Every resident is responsible for their guests and will be held accountable for their guests' actions, even if they are unaware of them," warned Garcia.

He added that with the one-strike policy, there is no recourse. Therefore, within 30 days of when the eviction is finalized, the resident and whatever family members are living with them must be off HHA property.

Michael Mullins can be reached at mmullins@hudsonreporter.com.