Ryan McDonald (Photo: Ocean County Jail)
Brick police arrested and charged a 33-year-old township resident with bias intimidation as well as weapons offenses after he allegedly became agitated by other customers in a convenience store, then retrieved a knife from his vehicle and slashed their tires while screaming racial epithets.
According to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, Ryan McDonald, 33, of Brick Township, was charged with three counts of bias intimidation, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon, and two counts of criminal mischief, in connection with incidents that played out Tuesday around 2 p.m. at the 7-Eleven store on Mantoloking Road.
Brick police officers were called to the convenience store, initially, for a report of criminal mischief. An investigation by responding officers determined that a male suspect became “agitated with other customers in the store,” a statement said.
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The suspect is alleged to have then left the store, retrieved a knife from his vehicle, and proceeded to stab the tire of a customer’s vehicle. The suspect then allegedly approached the vehicle of a second customer, at which point he utilized the knife to puncture two tires on that vehicle – all the while employing racial slurs, the statement said.
An older female and child were located in one of the vehicles at the time.
The suspect fled the scene after the incident, but investigators soon determined that McDonald was, indeed, the individual responsible for these criminal acts, according to the statement. A short time later, Brick officers located McDonald in the surrounding area, and he was taken into custody without incident.
McDonald was transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he is presently lodged pending a detention hearing.
