Crime & Safety

Officials: Man Made Three Threats in One Day

East Windsor and Little Silver police have both charged a Woodbridge man in a series of incidents that occurred May 31.

The exploits of Cheung Y. Lee, 41, of Woodbridge, on May 31 allegedly span two jurisdictions.

Lee came to our interest when he was charged May 31 in East Windsor with false public alarm and improper use of 911 system.

 said Lee called their department’s Communication Center at 12:52 p.m. and told them a large building was going to be destroyed. Police said they quickly determined Lee was the person who made the call and arrested him.

Find out what's happening in Little Silver-Oceanportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Lee was released on 10 percent of $5,000 bail pending court action, but according to officials, that wasn’t his last contact with law enforcement that day.

Later that afternoon, at 4:19 p.m., and kept his clasped hands in his pocket as if he were holding a gun, according to Marc LeMieux, director of major crimes at the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. 

Find out what's happening in Little Silver-Oceanportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“He said, ‘Nobody move,’ so everyone looks at him, everyone stops,” LeMieux said. “Somebody starts to move and he says, ‘I said, nobody move.’ Then he walks up to the counter and he basically just tells the woman at counter, 'Here's a $50 bill. Can you make change for me?’”

LeMieux said Lee asked for ten, five and one-dollar bills for his fifty and then asked the teller if she was scared. “’She says, ‘I kind of was, it appeared you had a gun.’ Then he laughed, turned around and walked out.”

Down the street from the bank, LeMieux said, Lee approached a group of four teenage girls and “made a comment to them about having a gun.”

The girls eventually called the police, who had gone out in search of Lee after receiving a call about the bank incident. But Lee wasn’t picked up until he was back in East Windsor the next day to see police here about the alleged false 911 call, LeMieux said. East Windsor Police said Monmouth County officials had requested to speak with Lee, and so they turned him over after speaking with him June 1 about the East Windsor charges.

In Little Silver, Lee was charged with false public alarm and terroristic threats for the alleged bank incident, and another count of terroristic threats for the alleged incident with the girls.

“He didn't have a gun on him, however the investigation did reveal he had a gun in his vehicle,” LeMieux said.

Lee was released on $75,000 bail and then voluntarily entered a treatment facility in Monmouth County, according to LeMieux.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.