Nab hit-run suspect in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Jersey Journal
Saturday, July 26, 2008
By RON ZEITLINGER
DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR

The man police say drove the car that struck a 6-year-old boy Tuesday - leaving him in critical condition - was captured last night in Pennsylvania, a Jersey City spokesman said last night.

The Jersey City man, whose identity was not released, is being charged with aggravated assault after police arrested him at 10 p.m. in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., said Stan H. Eason, Jersey City director of communications.

Police say the man ran down Jabari Cooley in a 1991 Acura sedan in front of the boy's home Tuesday night at 9 p.m.

Police were withholding the name of the suspect while they sorted through his various aliases, Eason said.

Eason did not release details about the arrest last night and a statement from the city said more information would be made available today.

Information from "associates from prior arrests" led the Jersey City Police Department's Anti-Gang unit and Major Case Squad to the northeast Pennsylvania city about 120 miles away, Eason said. The arrest was made with the assistance of police in Wilkes-Barre, Eason added.

"This was the kind of case that not only harmed that young child and his family, but it struck a chord within the entire community," Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy said in a statement. "How do you leave a child to die in the street? It's inexcusable."

Jabari Cooley was in critical but stable condition last night at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark, Eason said. The boy was struck near Grant and Ocean avenues and dragged 70 feet, police have said.

On Wednesday, Jermyn Mobley was charged with tampering with evidence in connection with the hit-and-run accident. Police say he tried to wipe fingerprints from the Acura.

Bergen Lafayette: Boy, 7, Clings To Life After Hit-and-Run

July 23, 2008
WNBC

A 7-year-old Jersey City boy was rushed to the Jersey City Medical Center Wednesday after being struck by a hit-and-run driver, police said.

The boy suffered severe, life-threatening injuries, police said.

The boy was struck just before 9 p.m. at the intersection of Grant and Ocean avenues, police said.

Witnesses reported seeing a dark-colored Hyundai sedan, but officials are also investigating whether he was struck by a green Acura that was later found abandoned nearby.