Rumson burglary suspect struck police car, drove toward cop, prompting gunfire: Police

RUMSON - After striking a Rumson patrol car early Friday, a car occupied by two burglary suspects was heading toward a Fair Haven police officer, prompting that officer to fire his weapon at the vehicle and wound the passenger when his order to stop was ignored, a police document said.

The affidavit of probable cause to charge Rasheen Yarbrough and Nnamdi Atumudo with burglary and related offenses outlines what police say led to the pre-dawn shooting of Atumudo by the Fair Haven officer in this usually quiet, affluent borough.

The incident began with a 911 call at 4:39 a.m. from a Woodmere Avenue resident who reported two men dressed all in black were on her property, attempting to break into her cars, the affidavit said.

Rumson police responded to that location, spoke to the resident and reviewed her home-security cameras, which revealed two men dressed in black and wearing ski masks, the affidavit said. One of the men was pictured wearing red sneakers, it said.

Minutes later, at 4:47 a.m. Friday, a resident of nearby Avenue of the Two Rivers South called police to report two men dressed all in black were trying to break into her house, the police document said. That resident described the suspects' vehicle as one bearing Missouri license plates.

A minute after that report was made, a Rumson police officer reported the suspects' vehicle hit his car and continued traveling north on Avenue of the Two Rivers, the affidavit said.

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A police officer from neighboring Fair Haven, who responded to the area to assist in the burglary investigation, was stopped in his marked patrol vehicle on Avenue of the Two Rivers when a blue Chrysler with Missouri license plates drove toward him, the affidavit said. The original Rumson officer was in pursuit, with the emergency lights and siren on his patrol car activated, the affidavit said.

The Fair Haven officer, standing outside his cruiser, ordered the suspects' vehicle to stop, but the driver, identified as Yarbrough, did not, the affidavit said.

At that point, the Fair Haven officer fired multiple shots at the Chrysler, at which point the vehicle drove off the road and into some bushes and stopped, the affidavit said.

Both Yarbrough, 20, of St. Louis, Missouri, and Atumudo, 27, of Newark, then complied with orders to get out of the vehicle, the affidavit said.

Atumudo, who was wounded by the officer's gunfire, and Yarbrough were both taken to a hospital for treatment, according to the police documents.

Both are now in the Monmouth County Jail awaiting hearings to determine if they will be held without bail to await trial.

Authorities have not revealed the identity of either of the police officers involved in the incident.

The affidavit of probable cause said Yarbrough, when taken into custody, was wearing a black, hooded sweatshirt, black pants, light-colored sneakers and purple latex gloves. Atumudo was wearing a black, short-sleeved shirt, black pants, a black head covering and black and red sneakers. Their clothing was consistent with that worn by the two individuals captured on surveillance footage trying to break into cars at the Woodmere Avenue location, the affidavit said.

Officers found a blue, child's electric bike in the back seat of the suspects' vehicle, the affidavit said.

The homeowner at the Avenue of the Two Rivers crime scene reported that a blue, child's electric bike, valued at $328.99, was taken from the property, and a piece of a purple latex glove was found in the door jamb of the garage, the document said.

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That homeowner later told police that the two suspects had entered his detached garage to steal the bike and that they also tried to enter his home by turning the door knobs of several exterior doors, the affidavit said.

The victim at the Woodmere Avenue crime scene told police the two men had rummaged through a vehicle, but did not take anything of value.

Atumudo and Yarbrough are charged with two counts of conspiring to commit burglary. They also are charged with burglary into a vehicle in the driveway of the Woodmere Avenue home, burglary into the garage at the home on Avenue of the Two Rivers, and theft of the electric bicycle.

Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Rumson police reveal what caused shooting of burglary suspect