Police Investigate Possible Links Among Shooting Of Two Men, Recovered Handguns, And Man Arrested On Gun And Drug Charges

Kaseem Stewart-Hunt, 20, of Somerset faces multiple weapon- and drug-related charges following his Nov. 14 arrest. Photo: Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.

Police are investigating the Nov. 14 shooting of two Franklin Township residents as they sat in a car on Winston Drive.

Both unidentified men, aged 23 and 24 years, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to a press release on the incident from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.

As part of their investigation, authorities are trying to determine whether two handguns found near Pine Grove School and the arrest of a township man on weapons and drug charges are related to the shooting, according to the press release.

Township police received a 9-1-1 call at about 7:48 p.m., reporting that two men had been shot “while in the area of Winston Drive,” according to the release. Responding officers could not find the victims, but a short time later township police received a call from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital – New Brunswick reporting that two gunshot wound victims had arrived at the hospital’s emergency room.

Detectives from the FTPD and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office determined that the two unidentified men – aged 23 and 24 years – were shot by a man wearing a dark-colored ski mask and dark-colored jacket while they were sitting in a car. Authorities learned that the man approached the car, had a brief conversation with its occupants, then fired into the car.

At about 11:21 p.m., FTPD received a call reporting that two men were behind the Pine Grove Manor School waving around a gun. The men fled when police arrived, according to the release, but officers did recover two handguns in the area.

Additional patrol units located Kasseem Stewart-Hunt, 20, of Somerset, who was taken into custody, the release said.

The second man who police said fled the scene, Yulem Robles, 24, of New Brunswick, was found in Stewart-Hunt’s home and was taken into custody on an outstanding municipal warrant, according to the release.

A search of Stewart-Hunt’s Franklin Court home resulted in the seizure of approximately 47 grams of heroin and 400 grams of marijuana, according to the release.

Stewart-Hunt was charged with 2nd Degree Unlawful Possession of a Handgun, 4th degree Possession of a Defaced Firearm, 4th Degree Possession of Hollow Point Bullets, 4th Degree Obstruction of the Administration of Law, 2nd Degree Possession of a Handgun Without a Permit, 1 count 2nd Degree and 1 count 3rd Degree Possession with Intent to Distribute Narcotics, and 3rd Degree Possession with Intent to Distribute Narcotics in a School Zone, according to the release.

Stewart-Hunt remained lodged in the Somerset County Jail, Somerville, on Nov. 17 without bail, pending a detention hearing.

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