An Atlantic City man on pretrial release with 20 pending charges was ordered held after he allegedly brandished a gun at another driver during an apparent road rage incident.
Omar Butcher, 30, was arrested April 17, three days after he allegedly pulled up next to a car at a red light in Atlantic City and pointed a handgun at the other driver.
The suspect, whose face was covered with a ski mask, then took off, according to the charges.
The victim was able to get the license plate, which led police to Butcher, and a black Chevy Impala parked outside Demarco's Market in Chelsea Heights.
But when police tried to stop the vehicle, Butcher took off down a one way street the wrong way and onto the Black Horse Pike.
Defense attorney Andrew Imperiale questioned how his client was identified since the suspect's face was covered.
Surveillance video showed Butcher in the store with the mask down around his neck, Assistant Prosecutor Alyssa Gilboy said, noting that the license plate matched the information provided by the victim.
"While defendant may have been able to conceal his identity, he could not conceal the identity of his vehicle," Gilboy said.
He was arrested last June for allegedly brandishing a gun during a domestic violence incident in Atlanitc City. Butcher is a certain person not allowed to possess a firearm due to his prior convictions.
He was released from the Atlantic County Justice Facility in October, but was on day reporting for a driving issue, records show.
Butcher was arrested in January for alleged money laundering and drug crimes. Those charges were put on summonses, and he was not sent to jail despite the apparent violation of his pretrial monitoring.
"I don't know why he was on Level 3 monitoring," Judge William Miller said at Monday's detention hearing.
In ordering Butcher held, the judge said, "The reasons are obvious and plenty."
