NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—During the early morning hours of August 2, at least four people were stabbed in New Brunswick as multiple fights broke out during a hot summer night.
Three people were stabbed on Redmond Street in the Fourth Ward, and at least one more person was stabbed just three hours later on Louis Street in the Sixth Ward, according to police radio transmissions.
But more than a day later, city officials have not responded to multiple phone and email messages about the stabbings.
No press releases or emergency alerts were issued, and it’s not clear if police are still seeking suspects.
At approximately 12:45am, police on the scene of the first incident asked for a road supervisor and detectives after they found a man “bleeding all over the place” on Redmond Street near Joyce Kilmer Avenue.
Not one but two disturbances were reported on that same block, requiring a second ambulance and a number of police vehicles. Â A third crime scene cropped up after another victim injured in the melee called for help from ten blocks away.
Shortly after 4am, police returned to “wash down” the sidewalk in front of 26 Joyce Kilmer Avenue, and around the corner from there, presumably to remove blood from the crime scenes.
One of the victims had a laceration under his armpit, according to police radio transmissions. Â But soon after, police located another.
“I got two victims. Two confirmed. Cut or stabbed. I need two ambulances, possibly paramedic,” said an officer on scene.
About 20 minutes later, police dispatchers learned that a third stabbing victim from the same incident had made his way to a home on Jersey Avenue.
Officers who arrived at his location, near the intersection with Delavan Street, confirmed he had been “stabbed in the back.”
In a separate incident, residents of a third neighborhood reported intimidation that they said was the result of the previous incidents on Redmond Street.
“There’s a grey Jeep circling the area, threatening everybody,” said a dispatcher at 1:45am. Â “It’s related to the Joyce Kilmer and Redmond.”
The police believed that the same occupants of the grey Jeep were members of the Boyd family, and according to the police radio transmissions, detectives told the rest of the department to arrest any of the male family members in connection with the stabbings.
“New Brunswick to all units: Just be advised, from the detective bureau, if you come across any of the male Boyds, they’re all [prisoners],” said a dispatcher at approximately 1:54am.
Several hours later, police were dispatched to Louis Street and Central Avenue where two men were reportedly “getting ready to fight.”
Police found a group in the street and asked for an ambulance to come for someone who suffered a laceration to the shoulder.
By 3am, police on scene had figured out that there had been a stabbing, at least the fourth in New Brunswick since midnight, and requested Detectives to the scene.
Police made two arrests at the Louis Street scene, according to the transmissions.
Officers were also assigned to “prisoner watch” at Robert Wood Johnson Univeristy Hospital, but it’s not clear which incident that was related to.
While on “prisoner watch,” an officer called for back-up after an assault took place in the hospital’s emergency room but the officer said it was “unrelated” to the prisoner.
UPDATE (11:10am): NBPD spokesperson Captain JT Miller confirmed both of the incidents, and provided the names of those who were arrested or sustained injuries.
In the first incident, 28-year-old Brian Powell Jr., of New Brunswick, 21-year-old Brandon Hutchinson, of Fords, and 19-year-old Alexander Buchman, of Somerset, were all injured.  Powell was stabbed in the back and abdomen while Hutchinson was stabbed in the chest.  Buchman “received minor lacerations to various parts of his body.”
“The preliminary police investigation suggests an ongoing family dispute led to the fight and subsequent injuries,” read the NBPD press release issued shortly after this article was published.
Powell’s cousin is 21-year-old city resident Lamar Boyd, and both men were at the center of the dispute.  Boyd was arrested by New Brunswick police officers as he fled the scene of the knife fight and attempted to get into a parked vehicle.
“When arrested, Lamar Boyd was found to have blood on his clothing and a knife was recovered nearby.”
Investigators determined that Boyd, Buchman, and two other individuals attacked Powell and Hutchinson. Â All three victims were treated at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, and Buchman was arrested there.
Boyd and Buchman have been charged with Attempted Murder and Conspiracy to Commit Murder.
“New Brunswick Police detectives are actively pursuing leads on the other two suspects and expect to issue more charges related to the same,” reads the release.
In the second incident, 20-year-old Khalil Howard, of Hi-Nella, NJ, received a laceration across his shoulder when he was attacked by 18-year-old Myles Sonii, of Franklin Park.
Sonii had been arrested previously in November 2014 and charged with an assault on Plum Street.
Investigators think that a verbal argument ensued between the two men and escalated when Sonii pulled a knife on Howard and slashed his shoulder.
Sonii was arrested and charged with Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon.
Anyone with information on either incident is asked to contact Detective Brandon Epstein at (732) 745-5217.
Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.
