What to Know
- A New Jersey man jumped into action when he spotted a suspect trying to sexually assault a woman off a New Jersey highway, police said.
- John Bishop wrestled the suspect to the ground and held him until police arrived off of I-295 northbound in Mount Laurel, police said.
- The suspect, identified as Donald Cramer Jr., 52, is charged with attempted sexual assault, kidnapping and other related offenses.
A good Samaritan jumped into action and wrestled a man to the ground when he spotted the suspect trying to sexually assault a woman on the side of a New Jersey highway, investigators said.
John Bishop, 54, of Burlington Township, New Jersey, told NBC10 he was traveling on I-295 northbound and getting onto the exit ramp to Rt. 73 in Mount Laurel Township Thursday, around 2:45 p.m. At the same time, a woman who had missed her bus stop was walking back to her car nearby.
As Bishop drove, he spotted a man grabbing the woman on the side of the road and dragging her down an embankment to a wooded area.
Bishop stopped his vehicle on the shoulder of the highway and approached the woods where he heard the sound of the woman’s muffled scream.
Bishop yelled at the man who was struggling with the woman. The man then confronted him.
“He came up out of the bushes and came at me and grabbed me by the arms,” Bishop said.
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The two men wrestled, both struggling to throw the other to the ground until Bishop gained the advantage.
“I threw him down on the ground like three times and then I drug him up to the top of the hill and threw him over the guardrail,” Bishop said.
Bishop said the suspect was armed with a sharp object which he didn’t see at the time. Yet Bishop had a weapon of his own.
“I picked up a stick and I was getting ready to hit him and he started to fall,” Bishop said. “The ground is very steep there. And when he fell I just grabbed it and I kind of like stuck it in his shoulder blade really hard and used my weight to pin him to the ground.”
Bishop told NBC10 three members of the Palmyra Fire Department responded to the scene and helped him keep the suspect under control until Mount Laurel Police arrived.
The suspect, who investigators identified as 52-year-old Donald Cramer Jr., of Philadelphia, was taken into custody. He’s charged with kidnapping, criminal attempted sexual assault, aggravated assault, robbery, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, terroristic threats, criminal restraint and resisting arrest. He was lodged at Burlington County Jail pending a detention hearing.
The woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was treated at the hospital. Her injuries could have been far worse or even fatal however, if Bishop didn’t step in. Despite this, Bishop insists he’s not a hero.
“Most people I know would’ve done the same thing,” he said.
Police said Cramer may also be involved in more sexual assaults. Anyone with additional information on him should contact the Bordentown Criminal Investigations Office at 609-298-1171. Anonymous tips are also welcome.
