Morristown Man Charged With Robbing, Attacking Woman

A 26-year-old man police arrested last July was indicted Tuesday on charges of dragging a woman into an alley in Morristown, choking her and robbing her while in possession of a box cutter, according to DailyRecord.com.

A Morris County grand jury issued an indictment against Luis Daniel Hernandez-Perez, who is believed to be an undocumented immigrant who lived on Abbett Avenue at the time of the incident, according to the article. He is charged with kidnapping the woman on June 24, robbery, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon, according to the article

Hernandez-Perez has been at the Morris County jail on $200,000 bail since his arrest July 5.

Hernandez-Perez had snuck up behind the woman, dragged her off into the darkness, held a box cutter to her neck, and choked her until she fell unconscious.

Hernandez-Perez later told detectives the attack was a robbery attempt, but he didn't mean to hurt the woman, according to an affidavit signed by Detective Brendan T. Briscoe.

Police had first been called June 24 at about 1 a.m., for a report of a woman screaming, Briscoe said in the affidavit. They found a woman sitting on the ground of Elm Street, crying, with a red-handled box-cutter next to her, Briscoe said.

The woman told police she'd been walking home on Blachley Place when she was approached from behind by a man who put her in a choke hold, and told her "Be quiet" in a Spanish accent, according to the affidavit.

The woman said she screamed, kicked and even threw her coffee, Briscoe said. But eventually, she told police, she lost consciousness and fell to the ground, he said. She said she didn't know how long she was out.

When she came to, she said, there was another woman standing by her, helping her, Briscoe said. Police also noticed scratches on her face, and bruising on her arm when they arrived, he said.

While police couldn't initially identify other witnesses, they did obtain surveillance video from nearby businesses that showed one man walking directly behind the woman, and two running from the scene, Briscoe said.

Using that, they were able to identify and locate Eric Figueroa of Morris Township, who told officers he'd been sleeping on Elm Street next to air conditioners alongside a building, and had been woken up by the woman's screams, Briscoe said. Figueroa told police he walked over and saw a man on top of a woman, choking her, Briscoe said.

Figueroa said the man took off, and Figueroa chased after him, but couldn't catch up, Briscoe said in the affidavit. Figueroa said he returned to the woman to see how she was doing, and saw another woman was helping her, Briscoe said. Figueroa also reportedly noticed the box cutter on the ground at that point.

Briscoe and Detective Keith Hudson found Perez on Morris Street the following Wednesday, Briscoe said in the affidavit. Perez initially denied any involvement, but after being shown the surviellance images, said he was indeed the person pictured, Briscoe said.

Perez described at the time how he walked up behind the woman, placed his right arm around her next and carried a red-handled box cutter in his left hand, which he held up against her throat, Briscoe said.

"He advised that he dragged her into the alleyway because it was dark, and then no one would see him rob the victim," Briscoe said in the affidavit.

Perez also at the time described how the woman fought back, according to the affidavit.

"Mr. Hernandez [Perez] advised he was only going to rob the vicim, and [that] he had even turned the sharp edge of the box cutter away from the victim's throat," Briscoe said in the affidavit.