Terry Saunders allegedly stole an SUV, flung a trooper from a car in a struggle last year
TRENTON -- A Newark man who was shot twice while allegedly stealing two cars and sent a state trooper tumbling out of a moving vehicle was indicted on a series of charges by a state grand jury Monday, the attorney general's office announced.
Terry Saunders, 27, sparked a multi-state manhunt when he allegedly stole an SUV from a car rental facility near Newark Airport last year, wrecking the vehicle and nearly killing the trooper while attempting to steal the second car, authorities said. He was later arrested at a New York City hospital after seeking treatment for his injuries.
The 14-count indictment handed up in Superior Court in Mercer County includes carjacking, robbery and aggravated assault charges. State Police had initially charged Saunders -- who also goes by Tarik Smith -- with attempted murder of a police officer, but he was not indicted on that charge.
Authorities said Saunders' crime spree started in the early hours of Sept. 30, 2014, when he allegedly pulled into the lot of the Alamo Rent A Car on U.S. 1 & 9. A security guard, believing Saunders to be an employee there, let him past the gates, where he allegedly entered a Chevrolet Tahoe, according to a statement released Monday by the state Attorney General's Office.
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When Saunders tried to exit the lot with the stolen SUV, the guard grew suspicious, authorities said, and approached the vehicle. Saunders then allegedly rammed the gate and backed into two other cars on the lot.
Another guard, who was armed, ran in front of the SUV and yelled for him to stop, authorities said. Instead, Saunders allegedly drove toward the guard, who fired a single shot through the windshield, hitting Saunders in the shoulder. Saunders then allegedly rammed the SUV into the gate again, wrecking it, before fleeing on foot.
Police put out an alert with Saunders' description that also stated he was armed, though investigators later determined he did not have a gun.
Not long after, a State Police detective spotted Saunders allegedly jacking another car, a Chevy Monte Carlo.
The detective claimed he saw Saunders open the passenger door of the Monte Carlo at a traffic light on Frelinghuysen Avenue and order the driver to get into the back seat. The trooper parked his unmarked Jeep behind the car and snuck up on the driver's side, authorities said.
As the two struggled in the car, the trooper pulled his service weapon and repeatedly ordered Saunders to show his hands, the statement said. In the struggle, Saunders put the car into reverse.
The trooper, "who could not maintain his balance and feared he would be tossed from the vehicle," fired several shots, "none of which appear to have hit him," the report said.
As the car backed up, the trooper fell from the vehicle, hitting the driver's side door, the statement said. He was dragged several feet before the car crashed into his Jeep, and the trooper landed on the road with his head "inches from both a rear wheel of the Monte Carlo and a front wheel of the Jeep," the statement said.
When the car began to move forward, the trooper -- "fearing the car would reverse over him and seeking to stop the carjacking and kidnapping" -- fired seven or eight shots at Saunders, striking him once in the back, the report said.
Saunders allegedly fled in the Monte Carlo with the car's driver still in the back seat, driving for another 10 minutes before ditching the car and fleeing on foot. He was later admitted to the Harlem Hospital Center in New York, where he was arrested after receiving treatment.
The trooper was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was treated for multiple broken bones and received "numerous staples and stitches," the statement said.
Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office said the trooper has since returned to duty "with certain restrictions," but declined to identify him.
The Attorney General's Office shooting response team investigated the incident and Elie Honig, director of the state Division of Criminal Justice, said Monday investigators determined the use of force was justified.
Saunders is being held at the Essex County jail on $750,000 bail. Jail records indicate he is also being held on murder charges, though state authorities said they were unrelated to the Sept. 30 incident.
A message left with the public defender's office in Newark, which is representing Saunders, was not returned Monday.
S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
