NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—An Elizabeth man pleaded guilty to a second-degree aggravated assault charge for attacking a 30-year-old woman with a pipe and leaving her for dead.
Mickey Vanderpool, age 61, severely beat the woman “sometime in June 2016,” according to an official statement from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office (MCPO).
Vanderpool then left the unnamed victim for dead in Raritan Center, a large industrial park in Edison.
“After a day or more, the woman wandered around the industrial complex before she saw a utility worker and asked for help,” read the MCPO release.
The ensuing police investigation was led by Detective Joseph Kenney of the Edison Police Department, and Sgt. Wayne Canastra and Detective George Stilwell of the MCPO.
“During the investigation it was determined that Vanderpool met the woman in Newark, repeatedly struck her about the head with the pipe and left her for dead at Raritan Center in Edison,” read the release.
Vanderpool, who has a lengthy criminal record, was facing more serious charges but agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors that will send him to state prison for the better part of eight years.
Under the plea agreement announced on March 23, Vanderpool would be sentenced to serve eight years with no chance for parole until he completes 85% of the term.
The plea deal, which was reached with Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Allysa Gambarella, and Vanderpool’s sentence are still subject to approval by Judge Alberto Rivas. Â Sentencing is scheduled for June 23 in the Middlesex County Courthouse.
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.
