Jersey City cops say policewoman's ex-con hubby uses her gun to rob two men before wild chase that includes him hitting four cars on 440 and ends with police dogs cornering him as choppers whir overhead

Friday, September 10, 2010
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The ex-con husband of a Jersey City police officer has been charged with using his wife's service revolver to rob two men, then leading cops on a high-speed chase that included him plowing into four cars, officials said.

Jamal Sanders, 32, of Elizabeth - who eluded cops for three hours and was found hiding under a porch by police dogs - made his first appearance on the charges yesterday afternoon in Central Judicial Processing Court in Jersey City.

Arrested at about 12:30 a.m. yesterday on Belvidere Avenue after a brief struggle with cops, Sanders was charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, eluding police and weapons offenses, including possession of hollow-point bullets and possession of a firearm by a felon, officials said.

His wife, Police Officer Adrien Murrell, was suspended yesterday by Police Chief Tom Comey based on departmental charges connected with the investigation, officials said.

"As we developed information about the events of Wednesday night, I decided that Officer Murrell should be suspended without pay," Comey said. "Officer Murrell has not been charged criminally, but this is a very active and ongoing investigation."

The chase began just before 10 p.m. when the car Sanders was driving - a late-model red Lexus owned by Murrell - was spotted by Violent Crimes Unit officers at Clendenny Avenue and Route 440. They were on the lookout for a red Lexus linked to the armed robbery of $40 and a necklace from two men on Van Horne Street an hour earlier, officials said.

Sanders refused to pull over and hit the gas pedal, speeding away recklessly northbound on 440, officials said. The Lexus plowed into four vehicles stopped for the light at the intersection of Communipaw Avenue and continued on until coming to a stop at Sip Avenue, officials said.

Sanders bolted from the car and climbed a fence to get into Holy Name Cemetery, where he hid in several areas, officials said.

New Jersey State Police provided a helicopter to aid in the search with spotlights while police dogs tracked Sanders in the cemetery below, officials said.

After a three-hour search, K-9s Froto and Astro zeroed in on Sanders hiding under a porch a few blocks away, officials said.

Sanders was in prison from May 9, 2002, to Jan. 21, 2003, for drug distribution, resisting arrest-eluding police, burglary, theft and conspiracy to commit burglary and theft, according to corrections records.

Wearing blue jeans and a black T-shirt that had several large holes in it, he made his first appearance on the new charges yesterday and his bail was set at $300,000.

Court officials said Sanders also has a prior arrest in Georgia and there was a warrant for his arrest issued by Jersey City Municipal Court.